Inflation drops to 8.9% in Oct from 9.1% in Sept

The general point-to-point inflation rate has decreased 0.19 percentage point to 8.91 per cent in October last, compared to the previous month.

In the previous month of September the inflation rate was 9.10 per cent while it was 9.52 per cent in August, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.

Planning Minister MA Mannan on Tuesday revealed the inflation data after the weekly meeting of the executive committee of the national economic council (ECNEC).

“We have said earlier that inflation would come down from October, and it happened accordingly. Hopefully, it will decrease further after the Aman harvesting,” Mannan told reporters.

“We are passing through a tough time. Not only Bangladesh, but the whole world also is going through a difficult period,” he said, adding that despite various problems, the growth is positive.

In October, food inflation was 8.50 per cent while non-food inflation was 9.58 per cent. The food and non-food inflations were respectively 9.08 per cent and 9.13 per cent in September, the BBS data said.

As such, the non-food inflation rate has increased by 0.45 percentage point in October from 9.13 per cent in September.

Meanwhile, the inflation in rural areas decreased at a higher rate than that of the urban areas in the last month.

In October, the rural inflation decreased to 8.92 per cent from 9.13 per cent in September.

The food inflation in the rural areas was 8.38 per cent in the last month, down from 8.95 per cent in September.

The non-food inflation increased to 9.98 per cent in October in rural Bangladesh from that of 9.48 per cent in September.

The urban inflation decreased to 8.90 per cent in October from that of 9.03 per cent in September.

The food inflation in urban areas was recorded at 8.75 per cent in the last month, down from 9.36 per cent in September. However, the non-food inflation in urban areas increased to 9.07 per cent in October from 8.66 per cent in the September.

President of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh Golam Rahman told The Business Post that the BBS’s inflation statistics do not reflect the real scenario of daily essentials’ prices in the market.

The real inflation rate is more than the BBS data represents. The price of all kinds of essentials is high in the kitchen markets, he said, adding that the inflation situation has significantly worsened, which has already impacted negatively the daily life of the low and middle-income people across the country.

In the budget for FY23, Bangladesh has set inflation target at 5.6 per cent for this fiscal.