The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has reported that Bangladesh’s economic growth slowed to 3.78 per cent in the October-December period of the financial year 2023-24, marking the slowest pace in at least three quarters.

This decline was attributed to a sharp decrease in manufacturing output due to reduced domestic consumption and sluggish export performance.

The services sector also experienced a significant slowdown, growing at half the rate compared to the previous year, which offset the marginal increase in agricultural production, according to the BBS quarterly estimate of gross domestic product (GDP).

Comparatively, economic growth stood at 7.08 percent in the October-December period of 2022.

The BBS released its estimate amidst international agencies projecting below-average growth for Bangladesh’s economy.

Last week, the World Bank (WB) projected GDP growth to remain relatively subdued at 5.6 per cent for the current fiscal year, below the average annual growth rate of 6.6 percent observed in the decade before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The WB also anticipates slower growth to persist in the next fiscal year (2024-25) at 5.7 per cent, driven by a modest recovery in private consumption supported by inflation moderation, as stated in the WB’s April issue of the Bangladesh Development Update.

The BBS noted that industrial production expanded by 3.24 per cent in the October-December period of 2023, down from 10 per cent in the same period a year earlier.

This slower growth in the industrial sector, which constitutes 37.57 per cent of the economy, marked the lowest level in five quarters.

The BBS began calculating quarterly GDP in compliance with a condition tied to a $4.7 billion loan provided by the International Monetary Fund to Bangladesh.

This quarterly GDP estimate is the second issue, measuring the values of goods and services produced in the economy within a specified period.

The BBS also reported a 4.65 per cent growth in farm production during the October-December period, up from 4.22 per cent a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the services sector, which contributes half of the GDP, grew by 3.06 per cent in the second quarter of FY24, compared to the growth rate registered a year earlier.