As many as 70 percent of the households in Bangladesh changed their food habits involuntarily to cope with the high prices, according to a survey by the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM).

The soaring food prices, coupled with falling real income, pose a serious challenge for the poor in terms of accessing adequate and nutritious food.

Although Bangladesh Bank is taking several initiatives to reduce inflation, only implementing monetary policies is not enough as fiscal policies also play a big role in this regard, according to the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (Sanem).

Influential business houses and groups are exerting their influence in order to make rules favourable to them, said a number of economists yesterday.  

The immediate outlook for the new year is not as bad as had been predicted before. The Chinese economy is opening up, the industrialised West is adjusting and realigning their economies to the new realities, and a global economic recession does no longer seems inevitable.