‘Inflation spike due to Pahela Baishakh Hilsa buying spree’

Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has attributed the inflation spike to 6.32 percent to a spurt in demand for food stuff including hilsa fish due to the Bengali new year festivities.

“Food inflation hiked due to a rise in demand of Hilsa mainly due to the Pahela Baishakh,” he said, explaining on Wednesday the rise in the general inflation by 0.05 percent on a point-to-point basis from March despite a fall in non-food prices.

Consumers brought Hilsha, a key component of the Bengali new year celebrations, at five to seven times the normal price due to a shortage in supply caused by a fishing ban during the breeding season.

Food inflation spiked to 6.48 percent, 0.11 percent more than that in March, the minister said while briefing the media at the Planning Commission.

However, although people buy a lot of clothing to dress for the occasion, its reflection was not seen in the inflation for non-food sectors. 

The commission’s Physical Infrastructure Member Arastoo Khan said, “In developing countries like ours, people tend to spend more on food items rather than clothing during festivities. So food inflation spiked.”

Kamal attributed the fall in non-food sector inflation 0.04 percent to 6.08 to the drop in oil prices in the international market.

He said, average inflation on a point-to-point basis for April stood at 6.56 percent this year. Last year, it was 7.48 percent.

Inflation in rural areas rose by 0.02 percent to 6.03 in April from March and in urban areas by 0.11 percent to stand at 6.88.

It was also said at the brief that national salary rate was hiked by 9.27 percent in March and 9.36 percent in April.