All brands will soon sell soybean oil at uniform price

Consumers need to spend Tk110 for buying one litre bottled soybean oil of Rupchanda brand whereas they spend Tk100-Tk102 for the same when they go for other brands such as Fresh, Teer and Pusti.

To remove this difference in prices and keep harmony with the global market, local refinery and marketing organisations have decided to hike the price of the edible oil.

All companies will start selling soybean oil at a uniform rate after the new price comes into effect. 

As per the decision, price of soybean oil will increase by Tk8 for a litre, Tk16 for two litres and Tk40 for five litres. 

The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association has recently sent a letter to the Bangladesh Tariff Commission, requesting a necessary step to adjust oil prices in line with the international market. 

At present, refiners sell a litre of soybean oil at Tk90. A supplier gets Tk4 and a retailer gets Tk8 in commission. Totalling the company price and the commissions in two stages, a litre of soybean oil sells at Tk102, according to the letter.  

In the proposal made by the association, the new company price for a litre of oil has been fixed at Tk98, keeping the commission rate the same. As a result, the highest retail price will be Tk110 per litre of bottled soybean oil.

The company price for two-litre bottled soybean oil is now Tk178; the commissions for suppliers and retail sellers are Tk8 and Tk16 respectively. As per the new rate, the company will charge Tk194, meaning that the new price for two-litre bottled oil will stand at Tk218.

Besides, the association has proposed for increasing the price of five-litre bottled oil to Tk540 from Tk500. The company price will be Tk485 and the commissions will be Tk20 and Tk35 correspondingly.

While visiting retail markets in the capital, this correspondent found that grocers were selling soybean oil at the highest retail prices while super shops were giving discounts on prices. 

For instance, five-litre bottled oil of Rupchanda brand costs Tk530, but Shwapno super shop was selling it at Tk480 at a discount of Tk50. In this way, other super shops such as Meena Bazar and Agora were selling big bottles on discounted prices.

Sources said, as super shops buy soybean oil from the companies directly, they can sell at lower prices. 

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Tariff Commission has prepared its recommendations over hiking prices of edible oil, considering the present situation of international and local markets.