Bangladesh loses Tk 33b a day during lockdown: study

Collected
The Bangladesh economy has been haemorrhaging Tk 33 billion a day from its service and agriculture sectors through the nationwide shutdown over the coronavirus outbreak, a report has found.

Researchers from Dhaka University’s Institute of Health Economics released the finding after analysing the state of national economy from March 26 to April 25 in a study on the impact of the coronavirus on the economy.

The united states racked up losses totalling around Tk 1 trillion in March, lead researcher Prof Syed Abdul Hamid told bdnews24.com on Tuesday.

The researchers attemptedto calculate the temporary or current losses in the domestic economy based on the 2018-2019 GDP.

Bangladesh needs to give attention to adopting practical initiatives under the current circumstances, he said.

“On the average, the estimated gross loss per day currently in the agriculture industry and service sector is Tk 33 billion. This amount may skyrocket with the extension of the lockdown although we were unable to determine that amount,” he said.

The monetary losses may exceed Tk 2 trillion, almost 9 percent of the GDP, if the country remains under lockdown before end of May, Prof Hamid said.

Agriculture, industry and services will be the three major sectors of the economy, each comprising different sub-sectors.

Agriculture losing Tk 2bn a day
Bangladesh’s agriculture is split into three major sub-sectors, farming, livestock and fisheries. Although the amount of production in these sectors was not hampered in the short term, prices of produce slumped as foreign economies closed down. Therefore, the sector is facing an estimated lack of Tk 2 billion a day.

The professional sector is incurring a lack of about Tk 11.31 billion per day, especially on the production and construction front.

Services sector is reeling
The monetary loss is more prominent in the services sector. Most regions of this sector are under lockdown aside from the trade of daily staples and emergency services. All modes of communication, including road, rail, waterways and aviation are closed.

Tourism, hospitality and the real estate industry are also reeling from the shutdown as the private health sector too has come to a standstill. The services sector is losing Tk 20 billion each day.

The federal government has rolled out an enormous incentive package of around Tk 950 billion to mitigate the monetary impact of the shutdown.  However, the efficacy of the stimulus package will rely upon the short, medium and long-term financial losses along using its implementation, according to Prof Hamid

The researchers also made some suggestions based on the study.

“This calculation can help decide if the government’s incentive package will do to handle the crisis. Alternatively, it'll put pressure on them to properly implement the stimulus,” said Prof Hamid.
Source: https://bdnews24.com

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