Bangladesh eats beyond rice
Bangladesh’s food economy is undergoing a structural shift, with households consuming less rice and spending more on fruit, vegetables, poultry, meat, fish and eggs as incomes rise and poverty declines, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.
Average daily rice consumption fell 25.2 per cent from 439.6g per person in 2005 to 328.92g in 2022, while consumption of several higher-value foods increased sharply.
The change points to rising and diversifying consumer demand, but also creates new pressure on domestic agriculture and food imports.
The findings are based on four rounds of the BBS Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) conducted between 2005 and 2022.
Fruit consumption recorded the biggest increase, nearly tripling from 32.5g to 95.4g per person per day, or 193.5 per cent. Fruit moved from fifth to third in the national consumption ranking, overtaking potatoes and fish.
Vegetable consumption rose 28.6 per cent, from 157g to 201.92g a day. As a result, the gap between rice and vegetables narrowed sharply: Bangladeshis consumed 2.8 times as much rice as vegetables in 2005, compared with 1.6 times in 2022.
Potato consumption increased 10 per cent, from 63.3g to 69.7g.
Demand for animal protein also increased substantially.
Beef consumption rose 49.5 per cent, from 7.8g to 11.66g per person per day, while chicken and duck consumption surged 285 per cent, from 6.8g to 26.17g.
Chicken and duck consequently climbed from 13th to ninth in the national consumption ranking. Mutton consumption more than doubled from 0.6g to 1.28g, while egg consumption increased from 5.2g to 12.73g.
Fish consumption rose more than 60 per cent, from 42.1g to 67.83g per day, although fish fell from fourth to fifth in the ranking as other food categories grew faster.
Pulses increased 20.8 per cent, from 14.2g to 17.15g, while milk and milk products rose only 5.2 per cent, from 32.4g to 34.1g.
Dr Fahmida Khatun, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), attributed the dietary changes to “relatively rising incomes, urbanisation, improved awareness of nutrition, and changing lifestyles”.
The changing food basket is also reflected in household spending patterns. In 2005, food accounted for 53.8 per cent of average household expenditure, compared with 46.2 per cent for non-food items.
By 2022, food’s share had fallen to 45.8 per cent, while non-food expenditure rose to 54.2 per cent.
The crossover occurred between 2010 and 2016, indicating that households were increasingly able to allocate income to housing, healthcare, education, transport, utilities and communications.
Bangladesh’s per-capita gross national income rose to $3,020 in FY26 from $2,769 a year earlier, compared with just $577 in 2004-05.
However, the shift in consumption is uneven. Food still accounts for 59.8 per cent of expenditure among the poorest 5 per cent of households, compared with 28.9 per cent among the richest 5 per cent.
“For the poorest households, the kitchen still dominates the household economy,” Fahmida said.
“Diversification remains uneven, as low-income households still depend heavily on rice and often reduce nutritious foods when prices rise.”
The changing demand also presents a growing challenge for Bangladesh’s agricultural and external sectors.
As consumers move towards meat, fish, fruit, wheat and edible oils, domestic production will need to expand to keep pace.
Failure to meet the changing demand could increase food imports, putting additional pressure on foreign exchange reserves and the trade balance.
Rising edible-oil consumption already illustrates the challenge, increasing 87 per cent from 16.5g to 30.85g per person per day.
The data therefore signals more than a change in eating habits. It reflects the gradual emergence of a higher-income consumer economy, while creating pressure on policymakers to ensure that domestic agriculture, food supply chains and imports can respond to changing demand without adding to inflation or external-sector pressures.
