People’s income, inflation did not rise at same pace: Mannan

Income of people did not increase keeping pace with inflation in Bangladesh, Planning Minister MA Mannan said today.

"But we should keep in mind the immediate reason for the rise in inflation. It is not a failure of our market," he said.

"Our market is now integrated with the global market. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has created some pressure on other economies, which has affected us."

He spoke after a meeting with a delegation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) at the planning ministry.

Asked whether the economy will reach a comfortable place if the IMF loan comes through, Mannan used an analogy to explain that it would.

"If I have Tk 100 in my pocket, it would be a little better if someone lends Tk 10 more," he said.

The government had approached the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a loan in July earlier this year to address the country's current economic challenges.

And although the loan would provide some relief, Mannan said the government is not actually in any uncomfortable situation at the moment.

He then informed that the ILO did not ask to increase the wages of workers in all sectors as they only made the suggestion for tea workers and coastal fishermen.

Among others, the ILO delegation consisted of Gunjan Dallakoti, SME specialist; Igor Bosc, chief technical adviser; Anne Drong, project coordinator, and Khadija Khondker, programme officer.