This series of reports analyzes food price trends and their implications for household purchasing power. It estimates the cost of meeting basic dietary needs and tracks changes in affordability relative to casual labor wages across survey rounds.
Latest Findings from December 2024 - Download the Report
- Between Q4 2023 and Q4 2024, the cost of a healthy and common diet increased by 38 and 41 percent, respectively. The healthy diet stayed 44 percent more expensive than the common diet.
- Nominal urban construction wages of men (women) increased by 28 (24) percent and nominal rural agricultural wages for men (women) increased by 40 (39) percent between Q4 2023 and Q4 2024, faster than previous year, likely driven by labor scarcity due to the conscription law.
- The purchasing power of daily urban construction wages relative to common diet costs declined by 9 percent and by 12 percent for men and women respectively. Conversely, the purchasing power of rural agricultural wages held steady (+ 2 percent for men and 1 percent for women).
- Rakhine has the lowest purchasing power of casual laborers in 2024 and the largest deterioration in purchasing power of all states/regions over the last two years, highlighting the state's economic fragility and the precarious circumstances faced by its population.
- Nominal wages rose at a faster pace in 2024 compared to 2023, slowing the pace of declining real wages compared to previous years. However, the wage gap between rural and urban casual workers has disappeared in 2024, reflecting a worsening situation for the poor in urban areas.
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Dec 2024 |
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Sep 2024 |
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Jun 2024 |
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Nov 2023 |
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Aug 2023 |
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Feb 2023 |