Soybean oil price lowered by Tk8 per litre

The government on Sunday reduced the price of bottled soybean oil by Tk8 per litre and that of the loose one by Tk7, saying the new rates will remain in force till next Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest Muslim religious festivals.

The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association announced in a press release the price of per litre of bottled soybean oil has been reduced by Tk8 to Tk160 and for its loose form, the rate has been lowered by Tk7 to Tk136.

For a five-litre can of soybean oil, the rate has been revised down from Tk795 to Tk760, added the press release.

Senior commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said the new rates - set at a meeting with edible oil refiners at the commerce ministry - would be effective from Monday at mill gate while it will take another five to seven days to come into force in the market.

The government is yet to set the price of palm oil, he said, adding, "We need some more information and calculations about palm oil. We will meet again on 22 March to decide the price."

Earlier, in the wake of rising oil prices in the international market, businesses had sought to increase the soybean oil prices by Tk12 per litre at the end of February. But the commerce ministry suspended the price hike process.

This was followed by an instability in the cooking oil market - with refiners cutting supplies and wholesalers raising prices through syndication. 

The situation took its worst turn on Thursday-Friday when the oil disappeared from the market. Retailers who had stock sold oil for Tk180-190 against its regular price of Tk168 per litre.

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) then held meetings with oil traders at all levels.

Also, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection held separate meetings, intensified its market monitoring and started collecting information from the mills.

The government then withdrew the 5% VAT at the consumer level, 15% at the manufacturing stage and finally reduced the VAT from 15% to 5% at the import stage to bring stability in the market.