On Monday, the Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, All Karachi Industrial Alliance and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain said home remittances are increasing, helping the government reduce the trade deficit and finance import bill.

He said that remittances have remained above two billion dollars since June 2020, while the average volume has remained 2.7 billion dollars for six months.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan is receiving seventy per cent remittances from Saudi Arabia, UAE, UK and the USA, while twenty per cent of the remittances are coming from Gulf and European countries.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that remittances have increased due to pandemics, travel restrictions, fall of hundi business, and positive initiatives of the central bank.

The SBP has reduced TT charges and introduced measures to lure people into opting for legal channels that are paying dividends.

He noted that global economic recovery and relaxations in travel restrictions had not dented remittances.

Increased remittances are suitable for the economy, but at the same time, unnecessary imports and import of food items are draining the forex reserves, which must be controlled as it is eroding the exchange rate.

Food imports are a drag on the scarce resources, but they also contribute to food inflation, hitting the entire population. At the same time, the gap between exports and imports also weakens the local currency.

The rupee is losing value against the all-important currency. At the same time, it fell below Rs168 to a dollar, which has raised concerns, adding that the dollar has increased its value by one rupee in one week, which has stoked inflation and added to the public debt.

He said that policy to allow the rupee to find its equilibrium against foreign currencies had opened floodgates of inflation; therefore, the policy should be reconsidered.