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High price hits protein intake


Published : 02 Apr 2022 09:51 PM

As the income of common people does not increase in proportion to the increase in the price of daily commodities, the amount of nutrition for low-income people is decreasing.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the rate of increase in the price of goods is higher than the income.

Economists and health experts said that in order to control the prices of daily commodities, strict initiatives must be taken to ensure uninterrupted local production in any way. At the same time, they are advising to keep the import and supply under government management.

Economist Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem said, “To tackle the rising situation the government can increase importing commodities under its own supervision like it did during the pandemic situation. At the same time, the government can play a strict role in maintaining the total import and supply of commodities to prevent the artificial crisis.”   

According to the statistics, the rate of increase in the price of goods is higher than the increase in income. According to the Bureau of Statistics, from 2010- 2011 to 2020-2021 Fiscal Year, wages increased by about 81 percent. In contrast, commodity prices rose 84 percent. However, according to the Consumer Association of Bangladesh (CAB) the price of goods in Dhaka has increased by 95 percent in the last ten years.

Food is essential for everyone to survive. And to live a healthy and vigorous life, they must have protein in their diet. For low-income people, lentils are one of the main sources of protein, the price of which has increased by 100 percent in the last two years. Prices of broiler chickens rose by 46 percent and eggs by 31 percent.

The price of cow’s milk, that is essential for the health and development of the child, now almost reached Tk 100 per liter. Fish prices are also on the rise. Consumers said the supply of nutrients to households is declining due to rising commodity prices.

“Since the outbreak people’s income has badly been affected and in the new normal situation, the price of essentials is skyrocketing. In this situation people's tendency to take protein has decreased, which is injurious to public health,” said Dr Lelin Chowdhury, an expert in public health and preventive healthcare, told Bangladesh.

However, he suggested using an alternative source of protein and urged the authority concerned to take proper steps to keep commodity prices at tolerable levels.  

On Friday while visiting different kitchen markets of the capital, many people alleged that nowadays they are unable to buy all their daily needs against the price hike. Each time they shop, they are failing to cope up with their estimated budget. 

In order to maintain the balance in this case, economists think that in addition to maintaining domestic production, the government should take initiative to import daily commodities.

Economists have also called for increasing government support for agricultural production that has also witnessed stagnated conditions due to pandemic outbreak and global unrest.

“Essential commodities have been on the rise since before the Ukraine-Russia war, and the war has added new burdens. In this situation Ramadan is coming, then Eid. Strong vigilance must be taken to ensure that the supply of goods remains normal. Even a little restraint on the eating habits of many of us during Ramadan will play a role in maintaining the supply of goods for the indigent people,” said Nazneen Ahmed, country economist of the UNDP.  

“If we can continue to use edible oil, sugar, lentils, etc. in normal quantities even during Ramadan, then there will be an available supply of these products for the common people and prices can be kept under control,” Nazneen added further.