Gross domestic product is expected togrow by 4.4 pct in the year ending June 30, Finance Minister
Mohammad Syeduzzaman told reporters.
    Inflation fell to an estimated 12 pct this fiscal year from
17 pct in 1981/82, he said last night.
    The World Bank and other independent sources have said
inflation would be around 15 pct in 1986/87.
    Syeduzzaman said remittances from expatriates would rise to
600 mln dlrs this year from 425 mln in 1981/82.
    Foreign exchange reserves at end-June are projected at 680
mln dlrs compared with 105 mln in 1981/82, he said.
    Syeduzzaman said the export target has been set at 900 mln
dlrs this year against 626 mln in 1981/82. Commitments for
foreign loans and grants total more than five billion dlrs in
1986/87, against 3.54 billion five years previously, he said.
    The government's liberal industrial policy has attracted
investment commitments totalling 250 mln dlrs, he said
    Foodgrain output is estimated at 16.4 mln tonnes this year,
up from 16.12 mln in 1985/86 and 14.4 mln in 1981/82.
    Government officials have said Bangladesh must import
nearly two mln tonnes of grain annually up to 1990, when the
government expects to attain self-sufficiency in food.
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