As many people, particularly those from middle-income backgrounds, tighten their belts to manage daily expenses amid high inflation, books, the food for the soul and a primary source in the quest for knowledge, have become the ultimate luxury.

Inflation and increased prices of books have quelled that thirst, at least for the moment.

Publishers said they had seen a fall in demand for books outside school curriculums as leisure readers had been forced to cut back on expenses due to higher prices of books and increasing costs of living amid persistently high inflation.

Sales of books have dropped 15-35 percent in the current year compared to 2022, they said.

Publishers said prices had risen after the cost of paper soared as a result of the depreciation of the taka against the US dollar and due to global economic factors, such as those stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At the same time, other costs, including the cost of printing, binding and labour, have almost doubled in 2023 compared to last year.

The sales at this year's month-long 'Amar Ekushey Boi Mela', a major annual event and a peak sales period for publishers, did not live up to expectations.

Jaya Deb, who resides in the capital's Mohammadpur area, said she had two children studying in school.

Earlier, she would buy numerous books from various shops, but this year she only bought some books from the Amar Ekushey Boi Mela. After that, she did not buy any more books, she said.

"The price of books has gone up a lot. So, it is not possible to buy more even if you want to," she added.

The book sales of Prothoma, a top publisher of the country, dropped 30 to 35 percent in 2023 compared to 2022, with sales of fiction books taking the biggest hit.

Zakir Hussain, manager of Prothoma, said a large portion of readers are middle class and were struggling to buy books as they wished.

As a result of rising costs of living and increased prices, a person who would buy five books now buys three, he said.

The Consumer Price Index in Bangladesh rose 9.02 percent in fiscal year 23, portraying the highest average inflation rate in 12 years.

That trend has continued in the current financial year of 2023-24, with inflation averaging 9.42 percent in November, figures from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics showed.

Mazharul Islam, chief executive officer of Anyaprokash, another major publisher, said: "A book is a product like any other. In the current situation, sales of books outside school curriculums have decreased by 15 to 20 percent."

"Especially since the start of the Ukraine-Russia war, book sales started to decline. This is because the price of books has increased due to an increase in the price of paper," he said.

Prices of other commodities have also increased due to inflation, but people's income has not increased proportionally. So, people have cut back on the purchase of items such as books, he added.

Given the situation, publishers have reduced the number of books published, he informed, hoping the crisis would be resolved soon.

From December 2022 to December 2023, Somoy Prokashon's sales dropped 20 percent.

Farid Ahmed, proprietor of the publisher, said: "We were gradually overcoming the effects of Covid-19. Just then, Russia's conflict with Ukraine, and high inflation affected the industry."

"In Bangladesh books are not considered essentials. People buy necessities first, then they think about books. Many people have reduced their purchase of books due to inflation," he added.

According to Osman Gani, the owner of publisher Agamee Prakashani, sales of books outside school curriculums have dropped by 20 percent.

Now more books are being sold online than in shops or showrooms, he said.

He added that they had published 129 new books for last year's Ekushey Boi Mela and that they planned to publish over 100 books this year.

However, he said that when the time for the book fair came around, traders would increase the price of paper due to a rise in demand. As such, he urged the government to withdraw the import duty on paper around this time.

Sales at the Amar Ekushey Book Fair this year fell by 0.07 percent compared to 2022, said Kamrul Hasan Shayok, managing director of the Panjeree Publications Limited.

Dipankar Das, proprietor of leading bookstore chain and publisher Baatighar, echoed others, also attributing the fall in demand to complications arising from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, persistent inflation, and political instability in the country.

In the US, print book sales fell 4.1 percent in the first nine months of 2023 at outlets reporting to Circana BookScan compared to the same period in 2022, Publishers Weekly reported.