Highlights:
- Q3 GDP growth falls to 2.22%
- Industrial output contracts during January-March quarter
- Agriculture and services record slower expansion
- Current-price GDP rises to Tk15.39 trillion
- BBS releases third-quarter GDP estimates
Bangladesh’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed to 2.22% in the third quarter (January-March) of FY2025-26, down from 4.53% in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
The BBS published the quarterly GDP estimates for FY2025-26 yesterday (19 July).
Quarterly data show that GDP grew by 4.96% in the first quarter and 3.03% in the second quarter of FY2025-26.
In comparison, growth stood at 3.91% and 3.53% in the first and second quarters, respectively, of FY2024-25.
At current prices, the size of the economy reached Tk15.391 trillion in the third quarter of FY2025-26, up from Tk14.192 trillion in the same quarter a year earlier.
Agriculture slows
According to the BBS, agriculture sector growth at constant prices eased to 1.74% in the third quarter, compared with 4.61% in the corresponding quarter of FY2024-25.
However, the sector recorded stronger growth earlier in the current fiscal year, expanding 2.11% in the first quarter and 3.68% in the second quarter.
During the same period of the previous fiscal year, agriculture grew by -0.12% and 1.90%, respectively.
Industry contracts
The industrial sector contracted 0.28% in the third quarter of FY2025-26, compared with 3.33% growth in the same period a year earlier.
Industrial growth stood at 6.82% in the first quarter and 1.27% in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, compared with 4.80% and 5.78%, respectively, in FY2024-25.
Services growth weakens
Growth in the services sector slowed to 3.52% in the third quarter, down from 7.32% in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year.
The sector expanded by 4.51% and 4.45% in the first and second quarters of FY2025-26, respectively. In the same quarters of FY2024-25, services sector growth was 4.49% and 5.84%.
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