Food costs per family Tk 22,000 in Dhaka
Even after dropping animal protein (meat and fish) from the grocery cart, a four-member family in Dhaka now has to spend Tk 9,059 per month for food .
If the family wants to add animal protein to their daily meal, the monthly cost will jump to Tk 22,421. This is the statistics of October. The food costs of the families have gone up from 27 to 38 per cent in the last four years.
The Center for Policy Dialogue (CPD) came up with these statistics on Thursday at press conference at its office in Dhanmondi. In the event, CPD executive director Fahmida Khatun presented the keynote paper.
Fahmida Khatun said the cost of living is increasing. Not only imported products, but also the price of local commodities is rising. It has become a burden for the people. Inflation is uncontrolled and that is disrupting economic recovery.
Quoting the World Food Programme (WFP) statistics, she also said, "A food crisis is looming. A total of 42 countries, including Bangladesh, could face a food crisis in the future."
Saying that the people are under pressure, she recommended reducing the price of fuel oils.
At the briefing, CPD said the wage increase is lower than that of inflation as wages are increasing by 5 per cent and inflation by 9 per cent.
There are some sectors -- garments, hotels and restaurants, bakeries, automobile workshops, plastics, rawhide and shoes -- in which a worker can draw a monthly wage which is as low as the normal food costs, excluding animal proteins, the CPD added.
CPD research director Khondaker Golam Moazzem said the food has emerged as a political product. Problems could arise in the future when purchasing food from the international market.
The government’s initiative is correct but not adequate. They will have to take mid-term and long-term goals in tackling the crisis, said CPD.
He said, "We won't be freed from this crisis even in 2023. Our economy is inextricably related to the global crises. We cannot expect to overcome this crisis in one year."