Revisions to proposed budget still possible: Finance minister

Revisions to budget proposals are still possible as the national budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 is yet to be passed in the parliament, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali said today (20 June).

“This is a people-friendly budget. Many have criticised the budget [size] saying Bangladesh is bankrupt. But..we are not. Bangladesh is on the right track. We are giving loans,” he said while addressing a seminar on “Bangladesh Economy in Global Context: National Budget 2024-2025 on Growth, Inflation, Food and Nutrition Security” organised by the Bangladesh Agricultural Economists Association.

“Agriculture is the main sector of Bangladesh. It will be disastrous if there is no agriculture. Many animals have been sacrificed on Eid-ul-Adha. Over one crore animals have been sacrificed. All animals are our own. It is also an indicator of the economy,” he said speaking at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council auditorium in Dhaka.

Presenting the keynote paper in the seminar, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) Agriculture and Marketing Department Professor said in the proposed budget the subsidy for the agriculture sector has been set at Tk1,721 crore.

“In the past, the subsidy has been increased whenever it was needed without taking the budget allocation into account. When fertiliser prices increased in the international market during the Covid-19 and wars, a lot of subsidies were given,” he said.

Meanwhile, speaking as the chief discussant, former state minister for planning Prof Shamsul Alam termed the proposed budget as ‘bold and modest’.

“According to the eighth five-year plan, the budget was supposed to be Tk2 lakh crore more in size. But this year’s budget has to be kept small to control inflation. However, to keep the people happy, a big budget is needed. Therefore, it has to be said that it is a bold budget.” he said.

He called for easing import policies to tackle inflation. 

“Sometimes it takes 2-3 months to make import decisions, during which, the price of goods increases by a lot. When there is a gap in demand and supply, it paves the way for syndication,” he said, adding that immediate import decisions can help keep inflation under control.

Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu said the government plans to sell daily necessities at fair prices through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh in permanent shops from next year. The government also plans to appoint 7,000-10,000 dealers to that end.

Currently, the goods are sold to 1 crore families on TCB trucks and designated sell centres. 

The state minister also called for using surface water for irrigation, saying that doing so would reduce production costs.