Bank loan disbursement to poultry, livestock rises

Business Report :
Banks disbursed a higher amount of loans to the poultry and livestock sector in the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period a year ago, according to data by Bangladesh Bank.
In the seven months ending with January, the share of poultry and livestock in total farm loans of Tk 18,684 crore rose 21 per cent from 17 per cent during the same period the previous year.
Poultry and livestock producers got Tk 3,923 crore in loans in the July-January period this fiscal, which was 35 per cent higher from the same months a year ago, shows monthly report on agriculture and rural finance released yesterday.
Apart from the livestock sector, farmers borrowed more to grow crops this fiscal year as the share of the crop sector in overall farm credit grew 0.3 percentage points to 47.6 per cent in the first seven months of this fiscal year.
Banks financed Tk 8,893 crore during the period while it was Tk 8,067 crore a year ago, according to the data.
However, the disbursement of funds for poverty alleviation declined as a percentage of the total agricultural credit given by banks.
Central bank data shows that private banks’ share in farm loan disbursement rose in the current fiscal year while the share of other category lenders, including specialised and state-owned commercial banks, declined.
Private Banks disbursed 56.5 per cent of the Tk 18,684 crore loans disbursed during the July-January period of the fiscal year.