Raza Khan

Workers’ remittances from European Union (EU) countries declined by 10% during the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year 2022-23, reports WealthPK. According to the State Bank of Pakistan’s data, remittances from top sources, including Italy, Spain, Germany, France and Greece, posted negative growth during the period under review.

The remittances from EU countries dropped to $1.790 billion during July-January 2022-23 from $1.898 billion during the same period of 2021-22, showing a decline of 10%. According to SBP data, workers’ remittances from Italy, Pakistan’s largest source in the EU, declined by 4.8% during the period under review and dropped to $484.1 million from $508.6 million over the corresponding months of 2021-22.

Pakistan’s diaspora in Spain sent home $283.8 million during July-January period, which was 5.4% less than $300.1 million they sent back over the corresponding period of 2021-22. Remittances from Germany dropped to $289.8 million during the period under review from $296.9 million over the same months of last fiscal year, posting a negative growth of 2.4%.

Pakistan received $251.8 million from France as remittances during the first seven months of FY23, registering a decline of 14% against $292.8 million remittances in July-January 2021-22. A decline of 7.6% was also recorded in remittances inflow from Greece. Remittances from Greece dropped to $198.7 million during the period under review from $214.9 million over the same months of last fiscal year.

Similarly, remittances from the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Ireland declined by 10.7%, 0.8%, 4.6%, 41.3% and 22.8%, respectively. The remittances inflow from the above-mentioned countries also dropped during December. Remittances inflow from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United Kingdom (UK) also posted negative growth during the July-January period.  

Workers’ remittances from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s largest source of cash inflows, also declined by 15.1% and dropped to $3.892 billion during July-January from $4.582 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. A decline of 15.2% was also recorded in remittances from UAE. Remittances from the Emirates recorded $2.873 billion during the first seven months of 2022-23 compared to $3,390 billion in the same months of 2021-22.

Remittances from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman also declined by 12.4%, 12.2%, 4.4% and 8.9%, respectively, during the period under review. Overall, workers’ remittances stood at $16.006 billion during July-January period against $17.987 billion in the same months of last fiscal year, showing a decline of 11%.

In January this year, the remittances dropped by 13.11% and stood at $1.894 billion against $2.180 billion in the same month of last year.  According to experts, the main reason behind the decline in remittances, especially from western countries, is the rising inflation. The cost of living for the Pakistani diaspora in Europe has gone up as energy prices soared in recent months, especially after the Ukraine crisis.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk