Local prices of rice, oil, beef, egg, onion now higher than global markets: CPD

The prices of rice, edible oil, beef, sugar, egg and onion have risen more in Bangladesh than that of the international markets, affecting the poor people who are already suffering from erosion of purchasing capacity for pandemic caused income losses, said the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) today.

The struggle of the poor and low-income group began with the outbreak of Covid-19 in early 2020 has worsened by the unabated rise in the prices of essentials, said the independent think-tank at a media briefing at its office to share its analysis on the Bangladesh economy amid changing global scenario.

In Bangladesh, there is a tendency to blame external factors for high prices even if certain commodities do not have any connections with the global demand, said Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the CPD.

Prices of rice, edible oil, egg, beef and sugar increased significantly faster than the international prices, she said, adding a litre of milk in Dhaka is now more expensive than a litre of milk in Ostrava, Czech Republic, Malaga or Spain.

A dozen of egg now costs more in Dhaka than Dayton of USA, or Cyberjaya of Malaysia, she said.

"However, our monthly average earnings of employees is much lower than the countries," she added.

Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow of the CPD, said the prices of essentials are higher in Bangladesh compared to the global market due to, may be, manipulation and the lack of efficiency.

"The government should focus on it."

Prof Mustafizur Rhaman, distinguished fellow of the CPD, and Zahid Hussain, former lead economist of The World Bank, and M Tamim, professor of BUET, also talked at the event.