Now exporters to get Tk103.5 per dollar for export proceeds

Banks will now pay the dollar rate of Tk103.50 in specific cases throughout February to bring export proceeds to the country quickly.

According to a message sent to banks, the Bangladesh Foreign Exchange Dealers' Association (Bafeda) and the Association of Bankers, Bangladesh (ABB) have jointly decided to pay a higher rate of Tk0.50 against each dollar if the export proceeds for the shipments made in December and January are repatriated by 28 February. 

The Bafeda has given oral instructions to speed up the implementation of this unofficial decision taken by the banks. Usually, export proceeds are rated at Tk103 against the dollar.

Earlier, Bafeda had decided to increase the rate by Tk0.50 if the proceeds of November and December exports were brought in by 15 February.

Bankers said there is some positive change after the Bafeda decided to increase the rate of export proceeds. However, it did not increase as much as it seemed.

The managing director of a private bank, who did not wish to be named, told The Business Standard, "We are providing the rate as per the directions given by the central bank. If we speak about our own bank, I have not noticed any change in our export proceeds due to the rate hike."

Former central bank governor Salehuddin Ahmed thinks that if the rate is increased a little, the export proceeds will not increase much.

"Increasing the rate bit by bit will not increase the export proceeds. Instead, if instructions are given that if the export proceeds are not brought within the stipulated time, the dollar rate will be lower, then the proceeds can come a little faster," he told TBS.

Md Shahidullah Azim, vice president at the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), has commented that Bangladeshi exporters do not have much role to play in bringing export proceeds quickly, even if the rate of the dollar is increased more.

Explaining the matter, he said that the economies are shrinking in many countries in Europe and America. Hence, in many cases, buyers are delaying receiving the products. For the same reason, they are deferring payment.

"We have to accept them, thinking about saving our factories. However, we are persuading them to pay us as soon as possible," he added.

On 31 January, ABB and Bafeda, in an online meeting, decided to increase exporters' dollar rate by Tk0.50 and banks implemented the decision the following day. The managing directors of public and private banks in the country participated in the meeting.

At the beginning of January, ABB and Bafeda decided to give exporters a rate of Tk102 per dollar. Earlier, in a meeting on 30 November, the export proceeds were raised from Tk100 to Tk101 per dollar, effective from 4 December last year.