The persistent high food price has kept the country in the red zone for the past one year until May 2024 in the food security update of the World Bank.
The bank鈥檚 update also showed that 18 others countries experiencing high food inflation share the red zone with Bangladesh.
These countries are Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Angola, Cameroon, East Timor, Kenya, Lesotho, Mongolia, Tunisia, Vietnam, Zambia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Kuwait and Norway.
Bangladesh along with these countries has been placed in the red zone because the price hike of food items ranged between 5 per cent and 30 per cent.
Economists blamed the flawed monetary policy of聽 the present government for the decade-high inflation in the country.
Besides, the market monitoring was ineffectual and the data of supply and demand were doubtful, said Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman.
On May 9, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies director general Binayak Sen at a programme reportedly said that food inflation in May actually reached 15 per cent, but the BSS calculated it at 10.76 per cent.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
High food inflation led 70 per cent of the households in the country to change their food habits involuntarily, according to a survey by the South Asian Network on Economic Modelling.
Such a large cut down on food consumption habits puts households at risk of food insecurity, said the think-tank in its report released in March.
Countries facing more than 30 per cent food price hikes have been kept in purple zone in the WB food security update.
Eight countries鈥擬alawi, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Turkey, Venezuela, Lebanon, Argentina and Myanmar--have been in the purple zone for the past one year.
In the food security update, the WB has kept countries鈥擜fghanistan, Somalia, Seychelles, Armenia and Thailand鈥攊n the green zone for facing less than two per cent food inflation.