Traders face action for unauthorized soybean oil price increase Commerce Adviser
Business report :
Traders have increased the retail price of edible oil without securing clearance from the Ministry of Commerce, raising bottled soybean oil prices by Tk9 per litre a move that will prompt action from the government, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin warned on Wednesday.
A visit to several Dhaka markets revealed that five-litre bottles of soybean oil are now selling at Tk965, up from Tk922 just a few days earlier. Retailers reported price hikes across both bottled and loose oil.
“Companies have increased soybean oil prices by Tk9 per litre. What was Tk189 per litre is now Tk198. Loose soybean oil has also risen by Tk5 per litre,” said Aseem Halder, a grocer at the Uttar Badda kitchen market.
When asked whether the ministry had authorised the increase, the adviser confirmed it had not.
“They did not discuss the matter with the ministry,” he told reporters. “Just recently, through a tender, they offered us soybean oil at Tk20 less per litre than the market rate.
We purchased 50 lakh litres from them. I don’t understand on what basis they have now raised the price.”
He said the ministry will soon summon traders for a meeting. If they cannot provide valid justification for the hike, the new rates will not be approved.
Responding to questions on how traders could raise prices without government consent, Sk Bashir Uddin noted that this was not the first such attempt.
“They tried to do this in October as well. We didn’t approve it, and the market didn’t follow the increase. We will discuss it again.”
He also assured that essential commodity prices ahead of Ramadan would remain stable, as preparations have already been made. Prices of chickpeas, lentils, and sugar have recently declined, he added.
Industry associations confirmed they had sought a price revision earlier.
According to the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association, companies wrote to the ministry on 10 November requesting approval for a price hike. They submitted another proposal on 24 November, but the ministry did not respond.