Finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed on Tuesday said that they would be able to bring down inflation within the next three months.
鈥楬opefully, inflation will drop to 6-7 per cent in June,鈥� Salehuddin told reporters after a meeting of the advisory committee on government purchases at the secretariat in the capital Dhaka.
Unlike the share market indices, inflation cannot go down overnight, he said.
Referring to the underlining reasons for the rate of inflation prevailing close to double digit over the past three years, the finance adviser said that they had already taken measures to contain it.
He was critical of the talk-show participants and their reference to the fighting back inflation by Sri Lanka.
In September 2022, Sri Lanka鈥檚 inflation rate reached an all-time high of 67.4 per cent, but by June 2024, Sri Lanka鈥檚 headline inflation rate dropped to 1.7 per cent, well below the 5 per cent target.
In Bangladesh, consumers witnessed more than 9 per cent inflation after the ousted Awami League regime hiked the fuel oil prices by about 50 per cent in August 2022 to secure $4.7 billion loan programme from the International Monetary Fund to tackle a foreign exchange shortage.
Since then there has been no respite from the high inflation.
The finance adviser said that the Bangladesh鈥檚 financial crises were not comparable with those of Sri Lanka.
The plundering of banks during the AL regime ousted amid a mass uprising on August 5, 2024, was unprecedented, he said, adding that Sri Lanka would have been lost had the island nation faced the current situation in Bangladesh.
The finance adviser noted that he was sympathised with the section of people who were facing hardship following the recent hike in value-added tax rates and said that it was done to bring an end to VAT waivers.
Opposing VAT waivers, the finance adviser said that a comprehensive outline for revenue generation would be emerged while finalising the revised budget for the 2024-25 financial year.
Earlier, while presiding over the purchase meeting, he approved proposals to procure 1,00,000 tonnes of fertiliser and 10,000 tonnes of lentil.
Following a commerce ministry鈥檚 proposal, state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh will procure 10,000 tonnes of lentil from Nabil Naba Foods Limited with per kilogram costing Tk 97.22.
The Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation will import 40,000 tonnes of DAP fertiliser from Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $611 per tonne.
The Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation will import 30,000 tonnes of bulk granular urea from Saudi Arabia with per tonne costing $395.16.
Besides, the BCIC will purchase 30,000 tonnes of bagged granular urea fertiliser from Karnaphuli Fertilizer Company of Bangladesh with per tonne at $389.75.