Food prices soaring: Provide a respite to limited income people

Keeping inflation under control had been a major success of the Awami League government, now in power for the fourth consecutive term. However, the inflation has remained close to 10 per cent for the last two years and the rate is over 10 per cent for food items.

Citing a survey, BIDS director general Binayak Sen recently shared worrying information that the inflation in food items has reached up to 15 per cent. In this situation, it is easy to guess how miserable the condition of poor and low income people can be.

According to a World Food Programme (WFP)’s report published this month, the cost of food for the population living below the poverty line has gone up by 58 per cent in 2024 compared to 2022. The per capita cost was Tk 1,851 in 2022 which soared to Tk 2,923 last February.

However, people’s income has not increased in comparison to that. Then how do they meet this shortage? First of all, by reducing other household costs. Some try to earn some extra money by making their children work instead of sending them to school.

According to WFP data, some 17 per cent of the people in Bangladesh were under food insecurity last February, which has increased by 2 per cent than the previous month. As much as 68 per cent of the country’s population is trying to survive by reducing the cost of living.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent of the people are buying food on credit, 22 per cent have reduced their medical expenditure and 13 per cent are eating away their savings. If you buy food on credit, you’ll have to pay it off at some point.

If you take loans from loan sharks, you would have to return that along with a high interest. The aid the 21 per cent of the people, who are at food insecurity, are receiving is also inadequate.

On one hand, every year we hear claims of food grain production going up while, on the other hand, inflation in food stuffs has been soaring. What’s the mystery behind this? There’s no shortage of food supply in the market, the lacking is in the purchasing power.

The government policymakers claim that the purchasing power of the people of Bangladesh has increased. But, that’s applicable to how many of them? The WFP report proves that there’s no balance between income and expenditure for the larger section of the population.

Whenever the topic of food price comes up, the ministers give excuses of the Russia-Ukraine war. But, the war has impacted other countries as well. If they could put inflation on check, why couldn’t we?

If Sri Lanka, which has come out of bankruptcy, can bring down the 70 per cent inflation to just 6 per cent in two years, why will it increase from 5 per cent to 10 per cent in Bangladesh? Even in India the inflation rate is close to just 5 per cent.

If peoples’ income has actually gone up as claimed by the ministers, why are they buying less food than required? Why do they need to eat away their savings or borrow money to buy food? Only 21 per cent of the people being at risk of food insecurity are receiving aid and that’s not enough.

Actually market management is our main problem. The government had fixed the prices of a few items before the last Eid, but failed to implement that. The traders after all kept the prices they themselves had set.

To get out of this situation, the government needs to strengthen market monitoring first, so that the players behind the curtain can be put on a leash. In addition to this, the sale of daily necessities like rice, flour, and edible oil in the open market should be increased as well.

And, that must not be seasonal or major city centric. This programme has to be continued everywhere regardless of cities or villages throughout the year. This might provide a respite to the poor.