Low and middle income people in Dhaka city are going through a tough time due to a widening gap between the wage growth and the inflation rate.
Even though the point-to-point inflation in Bangladesh edged down to 9.67 per cent in February from 9.86 per cent in January, the inflation rate still remains high, hitting the low income people hard.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data, the overall inflation slightly decreased to 9.74 per cent in April from 9.87 per cent in March.
Food inflation, however, soared to a five-month high of 10.22 per cent in the month of April, according to the data released by the BBS on May 13.
While talking to this correspondent at Boubazar in the city’s Mirpur-14 area on Friday, Md. Arif Hossain, a private jobholder, said that there is a big gap between his monthly income and expenses which is widening gradually because the prices of essential commodities are increasing continuously.
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"My salary did not increase in the last two to three years, but the prices of essential commodities are going up almost every month. It is the fact that my salary cannot keep pace with inflation,” he added.
Ziaul Hasan, a city dweller, said that after meeting the cost of education of his children and some additional expenses, he is now struggling to maintain his family.
“I am spending money from my savings on buying some commodities today (Friday),” he added.
Visiting some kitchen markets in the capital, this correspondent found that the prices of daily commodities have shot up significantly.
Potatoes were being sold at Tk 50 per kg while tomatoes at Tk 80, beans at Tk 80, papaya at Tk 80, ribbed gourd at Tk 60, sponge gourd at Tk 60, bitter gourd at Tk 60, ladies finger at Tk 60, pointed gourd at Tk 60, drum stick at Tk 50, taro stem root at Tk 140, spiny gourd at Tk 100, radish at Tk 60, brinjal at Tk 100, sweet gourd at Tk 40 and cucumber at Tk 60 to Tk 80 per kg.
Like the last week, 4 pieces of lemons were sold at Tk 50 while cabbage and cauliflower at Tk 40 to Tk 50 per piece. The price of green chilli was Tk 160-200 per kg.
Rajab Ali, a shopkeeper at Boubazar, said, “The production of Vegetables has been disrupted due to extreme heat. So, the supply of vegetables drops in the market, pushing up their prices.”
The price of Sonali chicken was Tk 370 per kg while broiler chicken was being sold at Tk 220-230 per kg.
The price of eggs increased by Tk 20 per dozen in the last few days. The price of farm brown eggs was Tk 150 per dozen while beef was selling at Tk 750-800 per kg.
Prices of different varieties of fish also remained high in the market. Pangas and Telapia were not available below Tk 200 per kg. The price of Ruhi (farm) fish was Tk 350-400 per kg while the prices of indigenous varieties of fish were beyond the reach of common people. Per kg of small Shoal and Magur fish costs Tk 800-900.
