Growth target for FY22 to remain unchanged: Kamal

The government will not revise the 7.2% GDP growth target for the current fiscal year despite the economy facing a huge inflationary pressure, according to Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal.  

The minister on Wednesday said the target will be set at 7.5% in the 2022-23 fiscal year if the global economic situation – which is now largely clouded by Russia-Ukraine war – does not deteriorate further.

"The economy is now on the line to achieve the target. The government would revise its target only if the global situation worsens further," the minister told journalists after chairing the Cabinet Committee on Public Purchase on Wednesday virtually.

The country's development partners such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have downsized the global growth forecast for the 2021-22 fiscal year in their latest reports.

The IMF has projected that Bangladesh's economy will grow by 6.4% in the current fiscal year which will be the second highest after India in South Asia. Previously, the IMF's growth projection was 6.5%.

Earlier, the World Bank projected Bangladesh's GDP growth at 6.4% in the current fiscal year while the ADB had slightly scaled it up to 6.9%.

While replying to a query, Kamal said essential commodity prices have witnessed uptrend across the globe due to supply chain disruptions mainly because of the Russia-Ukraine war, while Bangladesh is also integrated with the global transaction system.

"If there is a disruption, then we will have to share. But we are not going to do anything in advance regarding GDP projections," he added.

The finance minister termed Russia-Ukraine "external vulnerability" for the world, as the conflict shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.   

While responding to another query, the minister said the government is yet to take any latest decision regarding subsidy management.

There are no new measures about inflation management either.

He also said the budget deficit would remain within the fiscal target.

Kamal said although Bangladesh is integrated with the global system but the country's economy is still in a good shape.