Food inflation jumped to 10.22 per cent in April this year, even though the overall inflation slipped slightly – seven basis points to 9.74 per cent the same month.
In March, the overall inflation stood at 9.81 per cent, and food inflation was 9.87 per cent, show data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday. The non-food inflation dropped from 9.64 per cent to 9.34 per cent in April.
Overall inflation in the rural areas soared 24 basis points to 9.92 per cent in April, but in urban regions it dropped 48 basis points from 9.94 per cent compared to March.
For both food and non-food expenditure, people in rural regions had to spend more in April as food inflation soared from 9.86 per cent to 10.25 per cent, and from 9.41 per cent to 9.60 per cent respectively.
In urban regions, food inflation soared to 10.19 per cent in April from 9.98 per cent in March, but non-food expenditure dropped from 9.71 per cent to 9.01 per cent, the data showed.
The national wage index rate witnessed a 7.85 per cent growth in April, with 118.21 point against 7.80 per cent growth with 118.00 point in March.
On the matter, former lead economist at World Bank's Dhaka office Zahid Hussain said, “A slight decrease in overall inflation will not help the public as the price of goods did not drop in April.
“In the month of Ramadan and during Eid celebrations, food demand was high and so were the prices. Besides, policy instability of exporting essential items like onion, food of the neighboring country also acted behind food price hike.”
For imports, the USD rate played a key role in food inflation. “Importers faced trouble managing USD. They somehow managed the currency, but the price was high,” he added.
In April, non-food items’ inflation dropped in the urban region only.
“That could happen because of the increase in credit financing as urban people purchase consumer products, such as electronics, household furnishings, in installments. They decreased the purchases as the credit rate was high,” Hussain stated.
He then pointed out, “The national wage index witnessed a nominal growth in April, which means people’s income did not increase prominently. That means, this slight drop in the general inflation index does not mean anything positive for the people.”
