Remittances fall in Ramazan.

Byline: Shahid Iqbal

KARACHI -- The inflows of remittances in Ramazan have declined significantly due to the coronavirus pandemic forcing overseas Pakistanis to spend less amid fears of losing their jobs, said currency dealers on Friday.

Ramazan traditionally has been a month for higher remittances but the coronavirus has reduced the inflows. 'It's been a difficult month for remittances as inflows have not increased the way they did in the last many years,' said Forex Association of Pakistan President Malik Bostan.

He said remittances in April and May FY19 were $114 million and $157m, respectively but dropped to $100m in the outgoing month - reflecting the declining trend.

Since most of Ramazan fell in May, remittances should have been increased this month but currency dealers said it was hard to receive even $100m.

'Despite higher inflows due to Zakat and other charities, remittances were much less in Ramazan,' said Bostan.

Remittance from banking channels showed 5.5 per cent growth in 10MFY20. However, there was a month-on-month decline as the country received $1.79 billion in April compared to $1.894bn in March. The figures suggest that even the arrival of Ramazan could not improve inflows.

Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan's former chairman Zafar Parcha maintained that inflows have been declining due to uncertainty in countries where Pakistanis are employed.

He said the oil-dependent countries have been facing shortage of earnings which resulted in job losses, creating uncertainty for a lot of Pakistanis.

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