The country's poor people now spend nearly 87 per cent of their food budget on rice and the rest on protein and vegetable, said a government report.
"The share of rice in the total expenditure on food by the households in the bottom quintile increased to 87 per cent in 2008," said the latest quarterly report by the food and disaster management ministry.
The share of expenditure on rice in the total food expenditure in the bottom quintile increased from 54 per cent in 2006 to 59 per cent in 2007.
But in 2008 it marked a record 28 per cent increase, forcing the poor people to consume little or no protein foods, such as meat, vegetables and fruits, said the report.
Likewise, for households belonging to the second expenditure quintile, the share of rice in their food-related expenditure is 60 per cent.
The report said the rise in food prices is having a serious impact on food consumption and nutrition levels of the poor and low income people.
Estimates on food consumption during the period between 2006 and 2008 show a serious impact of soaring food prices; the 'food bundle' habitually taken by the poor is now beyond their reach even with regard to basic staples such as rice.
Poor households who are net food purchasers and whose incremental income lags behind inflation are at the greatest risk of higher levels of malnutrition as such households are forced to spend a greater proportion of their limited income on rice.
"Thus the price rise must also have a marked impact on dietary diversity," said the report.
The report covered various issues including forecast on rice production by the major countries in 2008 and its possible impact on international and regional markets.
It said price of rice might come down under in the next few months following a good harvest in most rice exporting countries.
"However, they are unlikely to weaken much, particularly when India, the major source of supply for Bangladesh, announced its minimum export price of rice at US$ 1000 per tonne while Egypt introduced export tax on rice in last September for a period of one year," said the report.
Import from Thailand would also be costly because of the enhanced price quotes for most grades of Thai rice due to tight market condition and strong Thai bath. Vietnam has also officially banned new export sales since last September.
Thus unless the size of the crops soon to be harvested are significantly larger than currently foreseen, the world rice prices could undergo further increase and continue through to the third quarter of 2008, added the report.
