Inflation in Bangladesh grew by 46% in a year however the Wage Rate Index (WRI) increased at the same time.
State Minister for Planning Shamsul Alam was speaking at the Development Dialogue hosted by the Development Journalists Forum of Bangladesh (DJFB) on Tuesday in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar NEC conference room.
He said: “The cost of production materials has gone up and so has the cost of fuel. As a consequence, inflation increased to 9.5%. The general inflation was 5.86% in January of 2022 compared to 8.57% in the same month this year, meaning that within the past year, it has grown by 46%. However, it has been gradually declining for a few months.”
“The rate of inflation won't go back to where it was, however it could go down. And keep in mind that the wage rate index rose in tandem with inflation. The wage rate climbed in January of this year to 7.06%. It was 5.93% in January of last year,” he explained.
By focusing on the market system, Shamsul Alam also said: “We have to reform the market system. The market is completely fraudulent, especially the rice market. It cannot continue in the rice market. Coarse varieties of rice are polished and cut by buying machinery worth crores of Taka. This kind of cheating cannot be allowed to continue in the commodity market and it will be stopped.”
He stated that the loan budget will be utilized when necessary, in response to the issue of how this IMF loan will be spent.
The DJFB General Secretary Shahanuare Shaid Shahin moderated the development dialogue, which was presided over by DJFB President Hamid-uz-Zaman.
