Inflation above 9%: A growing strain on rural and urban lives
Costs have risen across almost all areas of daily life, including house rent, healthcare, education, transport, clothing, and energy-related expenses.
April 2026 inflation data sends a clear warning signal. According to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, general point-to-point inflation rose to 9.04% in April, up from 8.71% in March. This means that the expectation of a steady decline in inflation has not yet materialised. Rather, the April figures show that price pressures have increased again.
Food inflation also rose from 8.24% in March to 8.39% in April. At the same time, non-food inflation increased from 9.09% to 9.57%. This suggests that the pressure is not confined to rice, lentils, edible oil, fish, meat, or vegetables. Costs have risen across almost all areas of daily life, including house rent, healthcare, education, transport, clothing, and energy-related expenses.
Both rural and urban areas are experiencing an upward trend in overall inflation. In rural areas, general point-to-point inflation increased from 8.72% in March to 9.05% in April. In urban areas, general inflation also rose from 8.68% in March to 9.02% in April. Numerically, the difference between rural and urban inflation is not very large, but rural inflation is slightly higher. This difference has important social implications. Rural low-income households, small farmers, agricultural labourers, day labourers, and informal workers often have uncertain incomes and very limited savings. As a result, they find it harder to absorb the shock of rising prices.
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The internal composition of rural inflation is even more concerning. Rural food inflation rose from 8.02% in March to 8.23% in April. Rural non-food inflation increased from 9.38% to 9.81%. This means that rural households are facing pressure not only from food prices but also from non-food expenses. When the costs of healthcare, education, transport, agricultural inputs, electricity, house repairs, and everyday services rise, the real purchasing power of rural households declines quickly. We often assume that because rural people are connected to food production, they are less affected by food inflation. The reality is different. A large share of rural people are net food buyers. They buy rice, lentils, edible oil, fish, eggs, and vegetables from the market. Therefore, food inflation directly affects them.
Urban inflation is also a serious concern. In urban areas, general inflation increased from 8.68% in March to 9.02% in April. The expenditure pattern of urban households is different from that of rural households. In cities, house rent, transport, education, healthcare, gas and electricity, water, childcare and market-dependent food purchases occupy a large share of household budgets. Urban low-middle-income and working-class people have to buy almost everything from the market. They have little scope for own production or family-based support. Therefore, even a modest rise in food prices, combined with higher rent and service costs, can quickly disrupt the monthly budget. Fixed-salary workers, garment workers, small service-sector workers, rickshaw pullers, shop employees and informal workers are particularly exposed to this pressure. Urban inflation is therefore not only a matter of market prices; it also reflects the growing insecurity of urban life.
In this situation, inflation cannot be treated only as a monetary policy issue. Interest rates, credit growth and money supply management are important, but a large part of Bangladesh's current inflation is linked to supply chains, import costs, the exchange rate, energy prices, market management and inflation expectations. Therefore, a coordinated policy response is needed. The food supply chain must be strengthened. Competition in markets has to be improved. Effective monitoring is required against hoarding and abnormal price hikes. Import decisions must also be timely, so that signals of shortage do not emerge in the market. At the same time, inefficiencies in agricultural production, storage, transport, and wholesale market systems must be reduced.
The highest priority should be protecting low-income people. Rural and urban poor households, lower-middle-income groups, fixed-income earners, and informal workers are the main victims of inflation. Social protection programmes need to be made more targeted. Food support, subsidised essential goods, cash transfers and employment-based assistance should be expanded in line with actual needs. In urban areas, subsidised food distribution, support for the urban poor facing rental pressure, and special protection programmes for low-income workers are also needed. Wage growth must also be monitored so that it does not remain below inflation. In the end, inflation is not merely a statistic. It means eating less, postponing healthcare, cutting children's education expenses and accepting a lower quality of life.
Dr Selim Raihan is a professor of Economics at Dhaka University and executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (Sanem).
