Price hike of staple food, nutritional impact and consumption adjustment: evidence from the 2005–2010 rice price increase in rural Bangladesh

This paper studies the nutritional impact of the rice price increase between 2005 and 2010 on households in rural Bangladesh and their resulting adjustment in consumption of rice, non-rice food and non-food items. We compare net rice buyers, who suffer from a negative income effect, with self-sufficient households that do not suffer from any such effect. Our findings indicate that rural households in Bangladesh cope well with the surge in the domestic rice price as indicated by the absence of any effect on their calorie intake and dietary diversity. In fact, both types of households similarly change their consumption of rice, non-rice grain, pulses, protein, fruits and other items. Furthermore, we do not find any evidence of buyers’ switching towards low-quality items in a food group. In a separate analysis, we compare net rice sellers with self-sufficient households and arrive at a similar conclusion. In both cases, income plays a crucial role in the consumption of non-rice food and non-food items, indicating the importance of effective income support programs at the time of price shocks in staple food items.