Most South Asian countries succeeded in reining inflation in 2023 in a major relief for their populations who struggled after prices spiralled owing to the shocks stemming from the lingering impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war
Food inflation at 12.56 percent in October this year is the highest in a decade
Unless a holistic approach is taken, the sector will continue to fall short of international standards.
Manipulation of potato prices is not new in Bangladesh.
Why should there be two different food standards for two social strata?
While many other countries have managed to reduce inflationary pressure by adopting monetary policy tools, Bangladeshi policymakers have shied away from doing the same.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected that Bangladesh's inflation will ease to 6.6 percent in the current fiscal year.
The Federal Reserve of the US and the European Central Bank kept hiking policy rates in their fight against record inflation throughout last year and this year whereas the central bank of Bangladesh chose not to use the full force of the monetary policy.
The noted economist has pointed out that if traffic were managed better, it would ease traffic congestion a great deal.
All this means that the people will not see an end to their financial woes anytime soon.
If there is one indicator that epitomises the government’s mismanagement of the economy in recent times, it is inflation -- which raced to an 11-year high of 9.94 percent in May.
Inflation in Bangladesh fell slightly to 9.24 per cent in April, driven by a decline in food prices, although it still remains at an elevated level compared to historic trends, official figures showed yesterday.
Why is there so much difference between the reality of common people and that which the government wants to see or project?