Both Setu and Wahid were frustrated but not too surprised. “Our expectations are quite low as it is because we know prices [of commodities] keep soaring but they never go down,” Setu said. Md Alam, the butcher who was standing nearby the couple, had a similar frustrating tone as his sale went down quite significantly in 2022 due to soaring prices of meat. If a kg of meat [mutton] goes above Tk 1,000, people won’t be able to afford it, would they? Don’t think 2023 will be any different.”Setu, Wahid and Alam represent millions of Bangladeshis who have been struggling with the cost of living crises in 2022, a period of deep collective economic anxiety.
