By Usman Khalil

The ongoing inflationary tendency which poised to hit a blistering point. According to the data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) the inflation hit a decade high in August. Generally, inflation raised to 9.52 percent in August and dropped to a still-high 9.10 percent in September. The BBS figures to shows how badly prices have been spiraling out of control in recent months. The daily suffering stands as an existing evidence of that. Therefore, the government has to think the dropping energy charges at the earliest possible time, since it has had a falling effect on prices of all other merchandises.
Price rises, which has been ongoing since the eruption of the pandemic in Bangladesh, has been out of control for the past several months due to upper food prices during the global supply disturbances and trade uncertainties arising from the Russia-Ukraine war. Figures shows that food inflation soared to 9.94 percent in August the highest since April 2012 and decreased slightly to 9.08 percent in September.
Non-food inflation, on the other hand, was 8.85 percent in August, but increased to 9.13 percent in September, representing that the inflationary impetus is hitherto to dispel. Another major concern is that inflation in rural areas has been worse than in urban areas – 9.70 percent in August, as contrasting to 9.18 percent in urban areas during the similar month. Food inflation in rural areas was likewise higher, since markets there incline to be more unstable than those in urban regions.
Moreover, while exterior shocks are certainly big issues that are driving inflation, the current fuel price hike in the country has, as anticipated, only made things worse. Therefore, the government to ponder lowering fuel prices at the earliest possible time, since it has had a dropping effect on prices of all other commodities. The government also urgently needs to control corruption and wastage in the energy sector, which have gone totally out of control, leading to the frequent load-shedding that is only increasing production costs and commodity prices for end consumers.
Since there is no single policy intervention that can solve the current crisis, the government needs to try and to solve it on manifold fronts. Initially, the government needs to gauge up its subsidized food aid programme for the poor. It requires to decrease fraud and misconduct across all sectors, which seems to have become identical with governance these days. And lastly, it needs to actively observe the supply of vital commodities, such as many food items in a bid to make sure to properly deliver to the poor masses of the Bangladesh. It is a preemptive measure in addressing any artificial supply shortage. In that regard, regular market watching by relevant government agencies is vital to root out any malpractices by influential trade associations.
The present crisis has, though, exposed the country’s susceptibility to exterior market shocks, which could sluggish economic growth in the average term. After being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh’s budget happening to show some signs of life in 2021 amid the facilitation of lockdown events. Nonetheless, the fallout from the ongoing war in Ukraine has plunged Bangladesh back into crisis in recent months. Rising global prices for food and energy of which Bangladesh is a net trader have quickly plagued into the country’s foreign exchange reserves and have augmented its current account deficit, compelling the government to implement various severity actions to reinforce its declining finances. Growing fears of a looming global recession have also reduced demand for Bangladesh’s garment trades.