Md Asaduz Zaman

Inflation in Bangladesh jumped to a seven-month high of 9.33 per cent in March as food prices rose and the adjustment of oil, gas, and electricity prices took hold, highlighting the pains low-income households are going through.

Although the government has from time-to-time laid emphasis on the timely completion of projects, the agriculture ministry will seek a third extension for one on fruit production, taking the completion time to 10 years from an initial five years.

Masudur Rahman completed his post-graduation in economics from Sirajganj Government College last year.

The agriculture ministry is planning to take up a Tk 7,214 crore project to promote crop diversification and ensure food safety, aiming to gradually reduce the country’s dependency on imports. 

The average monthly food expense for a four-member household in Dhaka has increased by up to 51 per cent over the past four years due to persisting high inflation, according to a study by the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).

Although Bangladesh has almost achieved self-sufficiency in rice production, its dependence on the international market remains high for food items with import cost rising two and a half times to Tk 80,800 crore from a decade ago.

The Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries yesterday started selling milk, eggs and meat at “affordable prices” across 20 locations inside Dhaka in a bid to stabilise the market during Ramadan.

Ensuring infrastructure facilities and logistics support in Bangladesh are the main challenges for the country to flourish in global trade, according to a top official of a global logistics company.

The import cost of pulses in Bangladesh is on the rise due to increased consumption, inadequate domestic production and higher prices in the international markets. 

It was once seen that only low-income and uneducated groups of people were involved with agro-farming in Bangladesh but now, the situation has changed radically.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) last week finally made public its estimate of the amount of Boro season paddy produced in the country last year, which sadly will come to little effect as farmers will be harvesting this year’s crops within a month or so. 

Nearly a year ago when President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many had thought that the war would end soon

Commitments and disbursements of foreign assistance for development projects in Bangladesh fell in the July-January period of the current fiscal year, which may deepen the pressure on foreign exchange reserves. 

More than two and a half years ago, the government took a Tk 1,500 crore safety net programme for the workers who lost their jobs owing to the devastating impact of Covid-19.

Earnings from jute exports from Bangladesh slumped for the second consecutive year in July-January, raising concerns for the promising industry, one of the few sectors for which raw materials are locally available.     

The 27th edition of the Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF), which ends today at its new venue in Dhaka’s Purbachal, may have seen a higher turnout but overall sales were lower compared to when the monthlong event was held in Agargaon, according to participants.

Bangladesh made a major step towards a universal pension scheme when parliament passed the Universal Pension Management Bill-2022 on January 24 with a view to bringing the country’s growing elderly population under a social security system.

Apart from export and remittance earnings, the government has placed importance on securing more foreign funding in the current fiscal year to shield the country’s foreign currency reserves from depletion. 

Scaling up public food distribution programmes for the poor and the vulnerable is the need of the hour -- given the cost of living crisis. But the government seems to be shying away from stepping up to this task.

The government plans to take up a large-scale sanitation and waste-management project, which will focus on 25 municipalities to ensure a safe, sustainable, and inclusive sanitation system.