71% of households concerned about rising food prices, says World Bank
Published on: January 9, 2024.
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Food Prices Cause Concern for 71% of Households in Bangladesh: World Bank Report
A recent report from the World Bank has revealed that a staggering 71% of households in Bangladesh are worried about the rising food prices in the country. This concern comes as inflation remains high throughout 2023, putting a strain on the public who are struggling to cover their living costs with stagnant wages.
The World Bank’s food security update highlighted that the cost of food consumption in Bangladesh is significantly higher than its neighboring countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Nepal. The report specifically looked at the months of October and November last year.
In comparison to these countries, Pakistan experienced the highest food inflation during this period.
Analysts in the kitchen market have stated that the steps taken by the government to reduce inflation were insufficient, and syndicates had a significant influence on the local markets last year.
The World Bank has categorized Bangladesh under the “Red” category, which signifies countries where food prices have increased between 5% and 30%. This places Bangladesh as one of the nations facing high inflationary pressure, second only to the highest category.
Back in August of this year, the cost of food consumption in Bangladesh rose by 12.5% compared to the previous year, marking the highest rate since October 2011. Annual food inflation had previously reached double digits in fiscal years 2011 and 2008, with rates of 14.11% and 16.72% respectively.
Within this “Red” category, Bangladesh is joined by 71 other nations, including Uganda, Laos, Egypt, Honduras, Kenya, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Africa, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
The World Bank’s food security update also mentioned that Bangladesh marginally missed its government targets for the production of food grains in the 2022-23 period. However, there were record-breaking yields for other food crops, such as mustard seeds.
The government has been actively procuring buffer stocks until December 10th of last year, resulting in 1.85 million tonnes of stocks compared to 1.76 million tonnes in June.
Despite this, Bangladesh still relies on food imports, and the recent softening of commodity prices has led to a 1.4% decrease in the food grain import bill compared to 2022. Additionally, prices of non-grain food items have dropped by 20%.
While domestic rice prices have remained relatively stable, there has been a decrease in the price of high-quality rice since April. On October 17th, Bangladesh implemented a rice export ban, which includes both aromatic and non-aromatic rice.
Analysts believe that if appropriate measures are taken promptly, inflation can be controlled by mid-2024.
The food market in Bangladesh, which largely depends on imports, has faced challenges due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Despite the price increases in locally produced food items, the overall increase has been relatively low.
At the beginning of 2023, a few unscrupulous businessmen raised the prices of several essential commodities, resulting in the record-high prices of eight kitchen items, including chili, broiler chickens, eggs, potatoes, onions, cumin, beef, and sugar.
Source: [Business Post BD](https://businesspostbd.com){:target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”}
