Home ›› 07 Jun 2023 ›› News
Planning Minister MA Mannan on Tuesday said in order to tackle inflation, the government agencies should take instant action when the price of any essential commodity increases abnormally in the market.
“The price of onion decreased significantly overnight after the commerce minister’s announcement of allowing its import. So, all agencies concerned should take action instantly to stable the retail markets for tackling inflation,” he said while addressing a press conference after a meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital.
“The government is very cautious about not increasing the inflation rate in the country further. We are working to decrease inflation rate taking instant action if the price of any essential commodity increases abnormally,” he added.
The government has set a target to keep the average inflation rate at 6 per cent in the next fiscal year. But the general point-to-point inflation rate increased by 0.7 percentage points to 9.94 per cent in May this year compared to a month ago, which was the highest in over a decade.
The inflation rate was 9.24 per cent in April, 9.33 per cent in March, and 8.78 per cent in February, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Inflation Rate and Wage Rate Index (WRI) in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, experts have warned that the inflation may accelerate further in June as the government imposed different tax measures, which would further push the prices of essential commodities up.
The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Monday revealed the latest inflation data. The inflation rate was the highest, 10.2 per cent, in 2011.
Observing that inflation is deepening due to the pressure of dollar crisis in the country, the planning minister hoped that the deficit of dollar would be temporary.
About the 6% average inflation target in FY24 budget, the minister said, “We have not been able to reduce the average inflation to 6 per cent but we will try to do it.”
