Bangladesh, July 20 -- It is an interesting observation that, even in rural areas, the per capita consumption of rice has gone down. Well, that could have happened due to the lack of the purchasing power to buy rice in the market. But the price of rice, reportedly on a rise, reflects effective demand along with the almost sustained rise in per capita. Even a rickshaw puller in Dhaka city or an agricultural labourer in a village tends to consume an increasing amount of non-rice foods. Thus, seemingly, the era of predominance of rice influencing Bangladeshi diet seems to have slowed down. Urbanisation, sustained income growth and decline in poverty "are continuing to change consumption patterns and heighten demand for a more diverse range of ...