Commerce minister finds soybean oil still selling at higher prices

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi found soybean oil still being sold at up to Tk168 per litre, which is Tk8 higher than the government-fixed price of Tk160, while visiting the capital's Karwan Bazar kitchen market on Sunday, the first day of Ramadan. 

Even the oil price was higher than the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh's reported price of Tk165 per litre. 

"Our main concern is edible oil prices. We fixed Tk160 for a kg of soybean but it is still selling at higher prices," he told reporters after the visit. 

Meanwhile, a grocer tipped the reporters off that the government set the price of a litre of non-bottled soybean at Tk136, but, wholesalers were selling the item at Tk152. "Then, how much price will we [retailers] offer to customers?"

The minister also found some irregularities in the market such as the absence of price lists in front of shops and the lack of proper documentation by traders. 

"We visit markets on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan to see whether commodity prices remain at expected levels. I think the prices at the wholesale level are well-controlled," Tipu Munshi said, adding that monitoring the prices at retail levels was tough for them as there were millions of traders across the country.