DHAKA, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Inflation in Bangladesh accelerated to 9.52 percent in August, the highest in 10 years, mainly driven by higher food prices, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has reported.
In addition, the country's overall inflation eased slightly to 9.10 percent in September, according to Planning Minister MA Mannan on Tuesday.
Data showed that food inflation soared to 9.94 percent in August, the highest since April of 2012, and eased slightly to 9.08 percent in September.
Non-food items inflation, however, increased to 9.13 percent in September from 8.85 percent in August, the data showed.
Due to higher food prices amid uncertainties stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Mannan said inflation has been on an upward trend over the past several months in Bangladesh.
He stressed the need for bolstering food production domestically to rein in soaring food prices.
Mannan, however, expressed his satisfaction with the decrease in CPI in September, saying it's good news for the government as it tried to rein in inflation in line with the budgetary target.
In June, the country unveiled a record nearly 7 trillion-taka (about 70 billion U.S. dollars) national budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year starting in July and the government said it is committed to containing the rising trend of inflation by addressing inconsistencies between supply and demand.
According to the budget proposal, Bangladesh is targeting an average inflation rate of 5.6 percent in the new fiscal year. ■
