Living cost up by 6.5pc: CAB

The cost of living in the capital city increased by 6.5 per cent in 2019 as the prices of spices, vegetables, clothes, utility services and other essentials went up, according to the annual report of Consumers Association of Bangladesh released on Tuesday.

In 2018, the cost of living in the city had marked a 6 per cent rise.

‘Our report reflects only a part of the picture for we did not have enough data,’ said CAB president Ghulam Rahman while unveiling the report at a press conference at National Press Club.

Prices of spices increased the most last year while almost all kinds of vegetables, popular protein-sources, clothes, other essentials, gas and water also became costlier during the time, said the report.

The report reviewed the data collected on 114 food items and 22 other essentials from 15 retail markets in the capital. It also reviewed the changes in the costs of services provided by 14 agencies.

‘The year in review ended with a bad omen as the prices of many food items that remained steady earlier started going up,’ said Ghulam Rahman.

CAB energy adviser M Shamsul Alam predicted that the cost of living would sharply go up in 2020 with the government amending  the relevant laws enabling it to increase the power and energy prices according to its wish.

‘Arbitrary rises in power and energy tariffs are very bad for the country’s economy,’ said Shamasul Alam.

‘The power and energy prices affect every business. We need to prepare for a worse situation as the government seems to have a plan to increase their prices several times a year,’ he said.

In 2019, onion was the most-discussed item with its price skyrocketing to Tk 250 per kilogram in November from Tk 25 in January, said the CAB report.

The report said that the onion price rose by over 71 per cent in 2019 on average.

‘The government’s failure to control the onion price set a bad precedence which might serve to inspire other businesses to increase prices,’ said the CAB head.

‘We are worried about what happens in the new year,’ he said.

The price of cardamom increased by 44.21 per cent last year while the ginger price went up by 12.04 per cent, said the report. The prices of garlic and coriander increased by Tk 12.33 and Tk 4.09 respectively.

The average increase in the vegetable prices in the year was 8.13 per cent, said the report.

The price of pointed gourd rose by 52.49 per cent. The prices of ladies finger, ridge gourd, taro root, tomato, yardlong bean, cucumber and red spinach increased up to 30.78 per cent per kilogram, according to the CAB report.

The price of local chicken increased by 22.50 per cent per piece while the prices of beef and mutton by 2.70 per cent, said the report.

The other sources of protein that became costlier last year included eggs, ruhi, hilsa, silver carp fishes, and shrimp and catfish.

Cow milk became dearer in the year with a 10.33 per cent rise in its price while the price of powdered milk, depending on the brands, increased by 4.85 per cent, said the report.

Other food items whose prices went up last year included date palm jaggery and apple.

Local and imported fabrics, too, became dearer last year.

House rent went up by 8.18 per cent on average with the shanty dwellers witnessing the highest increase of 9.74 per cent in the rent, said the report.

The charge for using a double-burner stove using piped gas at households was raised by 21.88 per cent while the piped water cost by 5 per cent, the report said.

CAB demanded an independent commission to control the water price and transport fares to rein in the anarchies prevailing in the sectors.

It said that the railway was in a sad state while traffic congestion continued to cause sufferings to the inhabitants of the capital.

Government high-ups continued to travel abroad for medical treatment throughout 2019 underlining the poor quality of the country’s health services, said the report.

The unwillingness of public sector physicians to attend office in remote areas and the inadequate supply of medicines and absence of diagnostic equipment at government health facilities denied quality health services to the country’s poor, said the report.

The widespread production of low-quality medicines and food also put public health at risk, it said.

The report pointed out that the prices of imported products were far higher in Bangladesh than other south and south-east Asian countries because of the excessive import tax.

Bangladesh realises a 25.64 per cent tax, on average, on the imported items whereas the south-east Asian countries pay 4.73 per cent and the other south Asian countries 12.19 per cent taxes on the imported products, according to CAB.

The association demanded a decreased import tax to facilitate industrialisation and employment generation.

The CAB president said that the low- and middle-income groups suffered because of the rising living cost as their income did not increase accordingly.

He noted that life became difficult for the educated class as 34.3 per cent of the highly-educated people did not have a job while about 85,000 foreigners working in Bangladesh were taking home billions of dollars.

The CAB report said that there were a number of food items whose prices fell in 2019. They included rice, lentils, edible oil, salt, sugar, soap and betel leaf and nut.

CAB demanded the establishment of a separate ministry for dealing with the consumer rights.

‘An increasing living cost helps to strengthen the cycle of poverty and the income disparity,’ said the CAB president.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net