Remittances worth $30.32 billion arrived in the last fiscal year: Minister in Parliament

Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury has expressed hope that the path to sending workers to Malaysia will be smooth soon. Referring to the Prime Minister's visit to Malaysia, the minister said that the government is working to open up the Malaysian labor market. It is hoped that the path to sending Bangladeshi workers to the country will be smooth soon. The government's efforts are continuing to legalize illegal Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia or those facing various problems.

Expatriate Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury made these remarks in response to a question from BNP MP from Kushtia-1 constituency Reza Ahmed during the question-and-answer session of the National Parliament on Tuesday. The question-and-answer session was tabled under the chairmanship of Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed.

The minister said that no workers are officially sent to Malaysia, the second largest labor market for Bangladeshi workers. However, there is an opportunity to go to any country in the world, including Malaysia, through a government-approved recruiting agency.

In response to a question from Selina Sultana, a reserved seat for women, Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said that remittances of US$ 30.32 billion were received in the last fiscal year (2024-25).

In response to a question from Lutfar Rahman of Cox's Bazar-3 constituency, State Minister for Food Abdul Bari said that the country's government food warehouses have a stock of 2 million 72 thousand 754 tons of food grains.

In response to a question from Lutfullahel Majed of Mymensingh-8 constituency, the State Minister for Food said that in the 2024-25 fiscal year, 46 million tons of rice and 10 million 41 thousand tons of wheat were produced in the country. Where the demand for rice is 41 million 11 million tons and the demand for wheat is 7.4 million tons. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, 534 thousand tons of rice and 735 thousand tons of wheat were imported by the government. In addition, 735 thousand tons of rice and 65 million 82 thousand tons of wheat were imported by the private sector.