Bangladesh’s inflation rises again in March despite ‘decline’ in food costs

It rises amid a surge in non-food prices, official data show

Bangladesh’s overall inflation has risen to 9.35 percent in March, reversing the previous month’s 22-month low, despite reported declines in food costs across both urban and rural areas.

The rate was 9.32 percent in February.

This means a product or service that cost Tk 100 in March 2024 required Tk 109.35 to purchase in March 2025.

According to the updated figures released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) on Tuesday, the overall inflation was 9.81 percent in March last year.

The last time overall inflation was 9.24 percent in April 2023.

Inflation, which has been on the rise since then, stood at 11.66 percent in July last year.

In the first month of the financial year, January, the country’s overall inflation dropped to single digits for the first time in four months to 9.94 percent.

A breakdown of the figures reveals that the slight increase was driven by a rise in non-food prices, which was observed in both urban and rural levels.

Food inflation dropped by 0.31 percentage points to 8.93 percent in March, while non-food inflation rose slightly to 9.38 percent in February from 9.32 percent in January.

A sharp drop in food prices was recorded in urban areas, where food inflation stood at 9.18 percent in March from 9.47 percent in February.

In rural areas, food inflation fell to 8.81 percent in March, down from 9.15 percent in February.

Non-food inflation in rural areas increased by 0.12 percentage points, reaching 9.95 percent in March, up from 9.27 percent in February.

Urban non-food inflation increased by 0.68 percentage points, standing at 9.95 percent in March, compared with 9.27 percent in February.

Inflation had peaked at 11.66 percent in July before gradually slipping to 10.49 percent in August and 9.92 percent in September.

However, it rebounded by 2.07 percentage points in October last year, reaching 10.87 percent, followed by another increase of 0.51 percentage points in November, adding to the financial strain on low-income households.

Despite a slight dip in December, Bangladesh ended 2024 with double-digit inflation.

Though inflation further declined in January, it remained higher than in January 2024.

Then in February, the country had a big success, but that changed in March.