No decision yet on edible oil price hike as traders, ministry differ on proposals
Bottled soybean oil is currently sold at Tk189 per litre and loose soybean at Tk174
Talks between the Ministry of Commerce and edible oil refiners over revising soybean and palm oil prices ended without any agreement today (22 September), as traders pushed for a steep rise while the ministry resisted.
At the meeting chaired by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, businesses proposed raising soybean and palm oil prices by Tk10 per litre, citing higher costs in the international market.
The commerce ministry, however, suggested that any adjustment should not exceed Tk1 per litre. This was rejected by the refiners, who said more discussions would be needed before any decision.
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The meeting was held between the commerce ministry and the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association.
It was attended by Meghna Group Chairman Mostafa Kamal, TK Group Director Mustafa Haider, City Group Adviser Amitava Chakraborty, Sena Edible Oil Industries representative Colonel KM Hasanul Haque, Commerce Secretary Mahbubur Rahman, Tariff and Trade Commission Chairman Dr Moinul Khan, and Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) Chairman Brigadier General Mohammad Faisal Azad, among others.
Bottled soybean oil is currently sold at Tk189 per litre and loose soybean at Tk174, rates set in April this year. Palm oil has been selling at Tk150 per litre since the government fixed the price in August.
Meghna Group Deputy General Manager Taslim Shahriar told The Business Standard, "Traders proposed the price increase, but no decision was reached at the meeting. As these meetings are held every month, we hope the government will take a decision after reviewing international market prices in the next round."
Shafiul Athar Taslim, director (Finance an Operations) of TK Group, said, "All necessary data have been given to the commerce ministry. We hope they will make a decision after reviewing the information."
A senior commerce ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that no resolution was reached, adding that "further review is required to adjust the prices." An official of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission echoed the same, saying price determination would "take more time."
According to commerce ministry sources, traders had recently given a proposal to the ministry for raising the prices of soybean and palm oil by Tk10 per litre. They argued that international edible oil prices have risen and that they are incurring losses at the government-set rates.
However, the ministry deems the proposed hike excessive and inconsistent with international price movements.
