Staff Reporter :
Price of soybean oil to be reduced by Tk 10 per litre as per the government’s decision. The new prices will come into effect from March 1.
The decision has come ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. State Minister for Commerce Ahsanul Islam Titu told journalists after attending the task force committee meeting on commodity prices review held at the commerce ministry on Tuesday.
Representatives of various government agencies, including the Directorate of National Consumers Rights Protection, FBCCI and major stakeholders of commodities providers, participated in the meeting.
“Although NBR reduced Tk5 per litre in tariffs for edible oil, mill owners and oil refiners have announced Tk10 reduction per litre ahead of Ramadan. The new rates will be effective from 1 March,” the state minister said.
A one-litre bottle of soybean oil will cost Tk163, down by Tk10 from the current price of Tk173 as with the reduced price. Besides, loose soybean oil will cost Tk149 per litre after price adjustment.
The state minister also noted that there is currently no plan to reduce palm oil prices. While providing an update on the import of onions from India, the state minister said, “We have had verbal discussions regarding the resumption of Indian onion imports. However, we await an official decision from India.”
The state minister also mentioned ongoing efforts to facilitate bilateral trade of consumer goods with Myanmar.
He said, “We have received a draft MoU for importing daily necessities from Myanmar. We hope it will be finalised soon, enabling us to import rice, lentils, onions, and ginger from our neighbouring country.”
Ahsanul Islam Titu informed that the businessmen would get more support from the banks in the future to import essential items.
He said the NBR has already been advised to keep the tariff on the essential items at a rational rate in the next budget.
He said the businessmen have assured him that the current stock of the essential items are enough to meet the demand for the Holy Month of Ramadan.
He said that the state-run TCB would provide commodities twice during the month of Ramadan, which include 5kgs of rice, edible oil, lentils, sugar, dates and chickpeas.
