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Low-income people are changing their diet patterns and failing to get the minimum amount of protein in their food intake due to soaring essential prices.
Fish accounts for nearly a fifth of daily protein intake. Poultry meat, egg and milk are also common sources of animal protein in the country. Besides, lentils are considered a major protein provider for limited-income people.
But the prices of all these items have skyrocketed across the country in recent weeks, forcing millions of people to reduce protein consumption to strike a balance between their rather static income and the rising cost of living after the fuel price hike.
The Daily Sun has talked to many people with poor economic backgrounds residing in Dhaka and Gazipur to understand the present scenario of their protein consumption.
Sohel Rana, a garment factory worker in Baipail area in Gazipur, said, “I earn Tk 15,000 in total per month. My income hasn’t increased but all essential items have become costlier. Therefore, I have removed fish and meat from my shopping list.”
He said earlier he had chickens once a week and fish or eggs in every meal for his four-member family. Due to the recent price hike, he is now depending on lentils and fried-smashed vegetables (Bhorta, Bhaji) for lunch and dinner.
“Being a father, not being able to put good food on my children’s plates breaks my heart,” Sohel Rana said.
While visiting several kitchen markets in the capital on Friday, this correspondent found that broiler chicken (live weight) was selling at Tk 170 to 180 per kg which was Tk 140 even two weeks ago.
The price for Sonali chicken has reached Tk 280 to 290 a kg (live weight) while local chicken is selling at Tk 520 a kg at Karwan Bazar. The prices are Tk 10 to 20 higher per kg at retail markets.
Soaring prices of eggs are also forcing ordinary people into a hapless situation. Eggs were selling at Tk 145 to 150 per dozen at Joar Sahara Bazar in Kuril.
Shahid Hossain, owner of Chittagong Departmental Store in Kuril, said he was buying per 100 pieces of eggs at Tk 1150 from the suppliers.
According to him, the price of lentils also soared in recent months. Fine and medium quality lentils were priced between Tk 90 and Tk 110 two months ago but the same quality lentils are now being sold at Tk 120 to Tk 140 a kg, he said.
Fish prices have jumped by at least Tk 30 per kg. The pricier dietary source of protein has hurt low-income people the most as many of them have to switch to cheap tilapia and pangas from now costlier broiler chicken and eggs.
North Badda’s Tea seller Asma Khatun said, “I used to buy tilapia and pangas as chicken and egg prices had soared. But the fishes are also out of my budget as medium sized tilapia and pangas are now sold at Tk 220 to 240 and 200 per kg respectively.”
Many drivers, rickshaw pullers, bike riders, and other low-income people take lunch and dinner at different messes or roadside restaurants to save money. They said the price hike has affected the menus of their platter.
Rickshawpuller Mohasin Mia said, “I buy meals at a mess in Rampura. Earlier, the meal cost Tk 50 but it has been jumped to Tk 65.”
“We were given chickens once a week but now chickens are given once a month. The amount of fish, which was common, has also decreased,” he added.
Asked about the impact of price hike on the protein intake of low-income people, Prof Khaleda Islam, Director of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science at Dhaka University, said, “Usually an adult person needs to take protein according to his/her weight and the amount of calorie used. Low-income people are hardworking people in our country. They need more protein than others.”
“If the price of common protein items reaches out of their hands it will affect their health,” she said, adding that it will ultimately put a burden on the national health budget in the long run.
(FE)
