Economic Reporter :
Rising food prices are still pushing up the living costs, making it increasingly difficult for people to manage three meals a day amid the ongoing pandemic.
Dhaka’s Modhubag dweller Shafiqul Islam used to work for a private firm. When it downsized, he lost his job and remained unemployed for four months. During this period, Shafiqul borrowed from his friends and relatives to make ends meet.
Though he has recently started a new job, at a lower salary than before, Shafiqul said his struggles to make a living were getting more and more acute by the day with soaring food prices.
Spiking food prices have dealt a major blow to consumers like him at a time when many have lost their jobs, while others have seen a fall in income owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), soaring prices of vegetables, rice, oil, spices and eggs impacted people the most between May and September. According to CAB’s market monitoring data, prices of those items spiked on a regular basis.
Last week, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said that food inflation has jumped by 0.42 percentage points, standing at 6.50 per cent in September, compared to 6.08 percent in August.
The rising food prices pushed overall inflation in September to 5.97 percent which was 0.29 percentage points higher than August levels.
According to CAB, says rice prices showed the maximum increase after vegetables. Although the prices remained stable during the Boro season in May, consumer spending on rice rose by 6 percent in June. Prices of this food staple fell slightly in July as low-income groups received relief materials including rice. However, rates went up again in August and September.
Now, one has to spend Tk60-66 to buy a kg of miniket rice (fine quality rice) in retail. At Tk 50-53 per kg, the price of coarse rice has increased the most. According to market analysis conducted by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), coarse rice price is nearly 40 percent higher than the same period last year.
When contacted, Md Layek Ali, general secretary of the Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Owners Association, said, “Production costs of the millers are rising due to the high prices of paddy. As a result, the price of rice has gone up.”
After the virus outbreak in the country, though ginger prices registered the first hike among spices, onion prices have contributed the most to the rising living costs. Prices of the bulb have spiked since India banned onion exports.
According to CAB, consumers are spending on spices increased by 10.60 percent during the August-September period. Traders raised edible oil prices saying that the international edible oil market had spiked. Edible oil had seen a gradual rise in the last two months.
According to CAB, consumer spending on edible oil rose by 2.64 percent one liter of bottled soybean oil is priced at Tk115-120, while loose oil is also above Tk100 per liter. TCB says palm oil market has become most unstable, as palm oil prices are about 33% higher than the same period last year.
CAB President Ghulam Rahman said, “Consumers’ spending capacity has decreased due to the pandemic, while flooding has reduced the supply of goods. This has increased food prices, putting consumers in a squeeze. ‘
Rising food prices are still pushing up the living costs, making it increasingly difficult for people to manage three meals a day amid the ongoing pandemic.
Dhaka’s Modhubag dweller Shafiqul Islam used to work for a private firm. When it downsized, he lost his job and remained unemployed for four months. During this period, Shafiqul borrowed from his friends and relatives to make ends meet.
Though he has recently started a new job, at a lower salary than before, Shafiqul said his struggles to make a living were getting more and more acute by the day with soaring food prices.
Spiking food prices have dealt a major blow to consumers like him at a time when many have lost their jobs, while others have seen a fall in income owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), soaring prices of vegetables, rice, oil, spices and eggs impacted people the most between May and September. According to CAB’s market monitoring data, prices of those items spiked on a regular basis.
Last week, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) said that food inflation has jumped by 0.42 percentage points, standing at 6.50 per cent in September, compared to 6.08 percent in August.
The rising food prices pushed overall inflation in September to 5.97 percent which was 0.29 percentage points higher than August levels.
According to CAB, says rice prices showed the maximum increase after vegetables. Although the prices remained stable during the Boro season in May, consumer spending on rice rose by 6 percent in June. Prices of this food staple fell slightly in July as low-income groups received relief materials including rice. However, rates went up again in August and September.
Now, one has to spend Tk60-66 to buy a kg of miniket rice (fine quality rice) in retail. At Tk 50-53 per kg, the price of coarse rice has increased the most. According to market analysis conducted by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), coarse rice price is nearly 40 percent higher than the same period last year.
When contacted, Md Layek Ali, general secretary of the Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Owners Association, said, “Production costs of the millers are rising due to the high prices of paddy. As a result, the price of rice has gone up.”
After the virus outbreak in the country, though ginger prices registered the first hike among spices, onion prices have contributed the most to the rising living costs. Prices of the bulb have spiked since India banned onion exports.
According to CAB, consumers are spending on spices increased by 10.60 percent during the August-September period. Traders raised edible oil prices saying that the international edible oil market had spiked. Edible oil had seen a gradual rise in the last two months.
According to CAB, consumer spending on edible oil rose by 2.64 percent one liter of bottled soybean oil is priced at Tk115-120, while loose oil is also above Tk100 per liter. TCB says palm oil market has become most unstable, as palm oil prices are about 33% higher than the same period last year.
CAB President Ghulam Rahman said, “Consumers’ spending capacity has decreased due to the pandemic, while flooding has reduced the supply of goods. This has increased food prices, putting consumers in a squeeze. ‘
