Bangladesh’s Inflation Rises to 9.92% in August, Driven by Soaring Food Prices

Dhaka, Bangladesh – Inflation in Bangladesh surged to 9.92% in August, up from 9.69% the previous month, primarily due to a significant increase in food prices, as reported by the country’s statistics agency on Sunday.

According to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), food inflation spiked to 12.54% in August, up from 9.76% in the previous month, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.

On the other hand, non-food items saw a decrease in inflation, easing to 7.95% in August from 9.47% in July, according to the data.

It’s worth noting that Bangladesh experienced a sharp increase in inflation to 9.94% in May, marking the highest level in the past decade, primarily driven by surging food prices.

Bangladeshi Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal addressed this issue in his budget speech, attributing the recent price hikes mainly to external factors.

As outlined in the budget proposal, Bangladesh aims to maintain an average inflation rate of 6.5% during the current fiscal year, spanning from July 2023 to June 2024.