According to data made public by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), remittances fell by 21.4% year over year in June 2023, from $2.8 billion in June 2022 to $2.2 billion.
When compared to the record-breaking inflows of $31 billion reported in the previous financial year, the total amount of remittances sent by Pakistanis living abroad for the 12 months ending on June 30, 2023, decreased to $27 billion, reflecting a 14% decline.
Remittances sent to Pakistan from Pakistanis living abroad climbed by 3.85% on a monthly basis, from $2.102 billion in May to $2.18 billion in June 2023.
Saudi Arabia ($515 million), the United Kingdom ($343 million), the United Arab Emirates ($325 million), and the United States ($272 million) were the main sources of remittance inflows in June 2023.
Additionally, earnings from expatriates living in EU nations increased by 11% month over month in June 2023, totaling $272 million. Similar to this, $271.9 million in remittances came from other GCC nations, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.
The coalition government’s and the banking regulator’s numerous austerity measures are to blame for the fall in inflows noted for FY23. To increase remittance revenues, these tactics included high fees on currency kept in banks and exchange companies.
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Remittance inflows suffered during FY23 as a result of import restrictions and weak domestic economic circumstances. These factors decreased demand, which in turn caused a considerable amount of expatriate inflows to be diverted toward unofficial channels for currency conversion.
Fundamentally, reducing imports due to governmental actions, suppressing demand, depreciating currencies, and the propensity for undocumented channels to maximize profits all helped to reduce remittance inflows during FY23. As a result, the Pakistani community living abroad in various nations received insufficient assistance.
