The cost of living for the common people is increasing as the prices of essential commodities increased instead of going down.
General or point-to-point inflation rate at the national level increased to 9.42% in May, which was 0.38 percentage points higher than the previous month, April.
This information emerged in the latest inflation report published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Sunday (June 7).
According to BBS data, the general inflation rate in April was 9.04%. In a month, that rate increased to 9.42%. Inflationary pressure has increased not only on a monthly basis, but also in annual comparison.
In May 2025, the general inflation rate was 9.05%. That is, inflation has increased by 0.37 percentage points in a year.
The report shows that inflation increased in both food and non-food sectors in May. Especially, the increase in food prices has increased the suffering of the common people.
In May, the inflation rate in the food sector stood at 9.06%, which was 8.39% in April.
In a month, food inflation increased by 0.67 percentage points. In May last year, the food inflation rate was 8.59%.
Economists say that the pressure on food inflation is not decreasing due to the relatively high prices of rice, pulses, edible oil, fish, meat, and other essential commodities.
As a result, the purchasing power of low and middle-income people is further shrinking.
On the other hand, inflation in the non-food sector has also continued to rise. Inflation in this sector stood at 9.71% in May, compared to 9.57% in April. The rate was 9.42% in the same period last year.
Concerned people believe that inflation is at a high level due to the increase in the cost of housing, clothing, education, healthcare, transportation and other services in the non-food sector.
Although the government and Bangladesh Bank have taken various initiatives to control inflation in recent months, their benefits have not yet been fully reflected in the market. As a result, instead of reducing the cost burden of the common man, it is increasing.
According to analysts, it will be difficult to reduce inflationary pressures quickly without improving the supply chain, strengthening market supervision and effective measures to reduce costs at the production and import levels.
