Living costs have gone up across the globe due to the price hike of imported goods – a ripple effect of the Russia-Ukraine war. Bangladesh too has witnessed significant increase in essential commodity prices since the war, with fertiliser rates going up the highest by 105 per cent.
This was disclosed in a survey report conducted by Action Aid, which adds that to ensure food security, it is important to keep fertiliser prices at a certain level for the farmers. This price hike would increase the production cost of agricultural items, which will affect overall food security.
Living costs in Bangladesh have gone up across multiple parameters, hitting the marginalised communities the hardest. In Bangladesh, fertiliser prices rose by 105 per cent, sugar by 60 per cent, petrol by 47 per cent, and sanitary pads by 23 per cent.
As a result, communities are facing multiple challenges, particularly women and children, who have been hit hard. These segments of the population are compromising on their education, nutrition, and health.
It should be noted that Bangladesh is heavily dependent on fertiliser imports. Back in April this year, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque had said the government has no plan to raise the prices of fertilizers in the coming years.
Bangladesh has a demand of 27 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser, and 5-6 lakh tonnes of DAP fertiliser in FY24, but the government has fixed the demand by 16 lakh tonnes, mentioned the minister.
He had added that there is a demand of 7.5 lakh tonnes of TSP fertiliser and 9 lakh tonnes of MOP fertiliser in this FY.
Soaring child marriage rates
A survey of more than 1,000 community members and leaders in 14 countries across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean found that prices of fertiliser rose by more than 115 per cent over the period monitored, while costs of petrol and sanitary pads increased by 80 per cent or more.
This has led to soaring child marriage rates, deteriorating women’s health and worsening mental health. This is despite the latest UN Food and Agriculture Organization Food Price Index showing an 11.7 per cent decline in global prices since February 2022.
Alberta Guerra, Global Policy Analyst for ActionAid, said, “This pioneering research shows that since the onset of the war in Ukraine, the most vulnerable people around the world are bearing the brunt of skyrocketing food, fuel and fertiliser prices, with women and girls the hardest hit.
“They are disproportionally affected by multiple crises that impact their food intake, education, their right to live free from child marriage, and their mental health and wellbeing.”
School dropout rates have increased for both girls and boys in 10 of the 14 countries surveyed, which includes Bangladesh. The economic pressure created by price hikes has also resulted in increased rates of child marriage.
One of the respondents in Sunamganj district of Bangladesh laid it out clearly, “Education is far less important than securing food for survival. Boys have to work in Bangladesh in the stone quarry or in sand extraction for Tk 300 per day in the Jadukata River.
“That is why they skip school.”
The report highlights that Bangladesh is facing intersecting impacts of multiple crises, ranging from climate disasters, the Ukraine-Russia war, Covid-19, debt stress and currency depreciation.
ActionAid Bangladesh Country Director Farah Kabir said, “The fuel price instability has had a far-reaching impact on all sectors, especially on food, which affects women and marginalised communities on a greater scale.
“Our national reporting [Bangladesh Bank] indicates we have an inflation of 9.5 per cent.”
She continued, “However, if we look in real terms, the marginalised communities now have to pay almost double the previous price for essential food items like rice and eggs. As such, there has been a serious drop in food consumption, affecting the nutritional balance of communities.
“On the other hand, our energy sector is highly fuel-dependent and therefore, high fuel prices have made a significant impact on our foreign reserves and national expenditure.”
ActionAid is advocating for a holistic approach and adequate funding that tackles all interconnected crises exacerbating the price crisis, including climate change, debt stress, and the profound repercussions of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, Farah added.
She then said, “Social protection measures need to be urgently adjusted to match the changed reality and current needs of the community. One recommended measure is to incentivize families with children, encouraging them to prioritize and continue their education.
“Dependency on food imports needs to be addressed with higher investments made in agro-ecology farming. A just transition to renewable energy and agro-ecological farming practices is needed now more than ever, both to protect communities from shocks and also to offer resilience against the climate crisis. There is no time to waste.”
A total of 1,010 community members in 69 communities in 14 countries took part in the perception-based survey between March 1 and April 23. The survey prioritised women participants, who constituted 63 per cent of the respondents.
Participants were asked about the current prices (on the day of the survey) of wheat products, cooking oil, petrol, gas for cooking, fertiliser, and sanitary pads, which were then compared with the prices collected by ActionAid before February 2022, prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Participants were also asked about the impact of these price rises on their lives and the lives of others in their communities and they were encouraged to choose at least one response from a series of options.
The fourteen countries which took part in the survey were Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somaliland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
