Economy gathers pace, GDP growth 4.48pc in October-December

The economy has regained some momentum as according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.48 per cent in the three months of October-December quarter.

GDP growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal year was severely affected by the July uprising and subsequent slowdown in business and trade.

In the July-September quarter, GDP growth fell to 1.81 per cent. After three consecutive quarters of decline, GDP growth increased again in the October-December quarter as the situation improved somewhat.

The BBS published a report on GDP in the October-December quarter. It shows that the GDP growth dropped for three consecutive quarters. The three sectors of agriculture, industry and services are considered to assess GDP growth. The agricultural sector saw the lowest GDP growth. The sector saw 1.25 per cent GDP growth in the quarter, which is 3.78 per cent in the service sector and 7.10 in the industrial sector.

According to the BBS, the value added to the country’s overhead value was Tk 8.87 trillion in the October-December quarter, which was Tk 8.50 trillion in the previous quarter.

According to BBS data, during the October–December period, the value added within the country at constant prices was Tk 8867.75 billion. In the previous quarter, the value added was Tk 8049.42 billion. This means that in the October–December quarter, there was an addition of Tk 820 more in value compared to the previous quarter.