Thanks to high food inflation, a weak national currency, and low foreign currency reserves, Bangladesh has witnessed more people slipping into acute food insecurity over the past three months.
According to a January report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the number of people in Bangladesh facing high levels of acute food insecurity surged by seven million, reaching 23.6 million in December last year, compared to 16.5 million during the April–October period of 2024.
In other words, currently, one in every seven Bangladeshis is living in acute food insecurity, up from one in ten three months ago.
In its latest country brief on Bangladesh, the Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS) also warned that the country might face challenges in meeting an estimated 8.3 million tons of food import requirements this year due to its low foreign currency reserves and weak national currency.
Established after the food crises of the early 1970s, GIEWS is an FAO program that continuously monitors and reports on food supply and demand worldwide. It serves as a leading source of information on food production and food security at national, regional, and global levels.
Quoting the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, the FAO GIEWS country brief states that about 23.6 million people were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity from October to December 2024, up from 16.5 million estimated during the April–October 2024 period.
Originally developed in 2004 for use in Somalia by FAO’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), the IPC is an innovative multi-partner initiative for improving food security and nutrition analysis and decision-making. By employing the IPC classification and analytical approach, governments, UN agencies, NGOs, civil society, and other relevant actors collaborate to assess the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity and acute malnutrition situations in a country.
GIEWS attributed the worsening food security conditions in Bangladesh to the negative effects of floods, Cyclone Remal, and persistently high food inflation.
Bangladesh experienced recurring flooding last year and Cyclone Remal, which was estimated to have affected about 19 million people and caused severe losses to crops, livestock, food stocks, and agricultural infrastructure.
The report states: “Despite the above-average cereal harvests in 2023 and 2024, which improved food availability, concerns about food access remain due to persistent high food inflation that diminishes the purchasing power of vulnerable households.”
Food inflation has remained elevated since August 2022, and in October 2024, it was estimated at 12.7 percent. This was driven by high production and transport costs, reduced cereal imports (especially the key staple wheat), and the significant depreciation of the Taka, which made imports more expensive.
The report notes that Bangladesh’s cereal imports have been well below average in the past two fiscal years—2022–23 and 2023–24—due to constrained import capacity caused by dwindling foreign currency reserves and the significant depreciation of the national currency since May 2022.
It warns that with the Taka remaining weak and foreign currency reserves low, the country is likely to face challenges in fully covering import requirements in 2024–25.
However, Central Bank Governor Dr Ahsan H Mansur has assured that the government has sufficient foreign currency reserves to cover the next four months of import bills. He also noted that remittance flows have been very encouraging since the July revolution changeover.
The FAO report projects that Bangladesh may need to import 8.3 million tons of cereals (rice, wheat, and maize) to offset domestic shortfalls. The total import requirements have been projected as 0.45 million tons of rice, 6.1 million tons of wheat, and 2.1 million tons of maize.