The cost of living in Bangladesh rose by 6.88 per cent in 2020, with the prices of products and services going up by 6.31 per cent during the period, the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) has said.
The figures were 6.5 and 6.08 per cent respectively in 2019 over that of 2018, it said in its latest report.
The report, published on Wednesday, noted that fuelling costs of rice, pulses, veggies, spices, meat and others contributed to such hike.
The increase in the prices of essentials and services has adversely affected the lives of people during the pandemic, said the report, published at a virtual meeting this morning.
The survey report has been prepared on the basis of information related to major food items, commodities and services.
While preparing the report, CAB mainly focused on the cost of living in cities by taking into account the expenses borne by a family for getting products and services.
However, the costs incurred in education, medical services and communication have not been added to the calculation.
Rice prices witnessed a rise of 20 per cent, pulses 28-48 per cent, veggies 10 per cent, spices 24 per cent, meat 9.0 per cent in 2020 compared to that of 2019, said the CAB report.