Extreme anarchy is going on in the edible oil market. According to the proposal of the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vegetable Manufacturers Association, the Ministry of Commerce has increased the price of edible oil by Tk 6 per liter.
According to the new price, a liter of bottled soybean oil will cost Tk 18 and a five-liter bottle will cost Tk 695. Until now, a one-liter bottle was available at Rs 160 and a five-liter bottle at Rs 70. Besides, the price of palm oil was 118 rupees per liter. Now the price of palm oil has been fixed at 133 rupees.
In January 2016, the price of palm oil in the international market was ৮ 625 per ton. It has risen to ১৩ 1322.25 in five years. In other words, the price of palm oil in the international market has increased by 70 percent at this time.
Traders have set a record by raising the price of edible oil in the country’s market by talking about the increase in prices in the world market. And the marginalized, working, and low-income people will be further crushed in the Corona epidemic by carrying higher prices.
Edible oil is used for cooking by 99% of the people in the country starting from the rich to the poor. Soybean prices in the international market have risen much higher than in the country. According to the World Bank, the price of palm oil in the international market in January 2016 was ৮ 625 per tonne. It has risen to ১৩ 1322.25 in five years. In other words, the price of palm oil in the international market has increased by 70 percent at this time.
On the other hand, according to TCB, the price of palm oil in Bangladesh has increased by 6 percent during this period. A liter of palm oil, which was opened five years ago, was sold at Rs 63. Now it is being sold at 138 rupees. In other words, the price of palm oil in Bangladesh has been increased by 26 percent more than the international market. At the same time, the price of soybean oil has risen from ৬ 584 per tonne to ১৪ 1440 per tonne. In other words, the price has increased by 64 percent.
On the other hand, the price of bottled soybean oil has risen by 98 percent. At the beginning of 2016, the oil was sold at 75 rupees per liter. Which has now been increased to 18 rupees. In other words, the price of soybean oil in Bangladesh has been increased by about 34 percent more than the international market.
In January, the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vegetable Manufacturers Association applied to the Commerce Ministry to increase the price of soybean oil by Tk 8 per liter. The Commerce Ministry then informed the traders that the prices could not be increased till February 8. But the next day, the market companies increased the price by 3-4 rupees per liter.
According to the Commerce Ministry, the decision was taken because of the demands of edible oil traders and after reviewing the international market. Traders have been demanding higher prices since last month. At that time they were told that the price could not be increased till February 6. Of these, the issue of raising prices has been reviewed. Accordingly, it was decided to increase the price today. Earlier, on October 19 last year, the Ministry of Commerce increased the price of bottled soybean oil by Tk 6 per liter to Tk 180.
Before the outbreak of coronavirus, the wholesale price of open soybean in the wholesale market was Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,200 per quintal. At that time, the wholesale price of palm oil was around Tk 2,000 per ounce. But in less than two years, the prices of the two products have doubled in the country’s market. In the last two years, the price of edible oil in the country has increased by at least 20 points. In the last year, the market of edible oil has increased 10 times jointly by traders and the government.
According to market research, the wholesale market for edible oil has once again become volatile since the Refiners’ Association proposed an increase in edible oil prices by the Commerce Ministry. In about two weeks, the wholesale price of edible oil has increased from Rs 200 to Rs 300 per ounce (36.32 kg). Although prices have not been raised officially, wholesalers have already raised prices through doing transactions due to trading. Even three weeks ago, the wholesale price of palm oil was 5,100 to 5,150 rupees per ounce. On the other hand, the price of Super Palm Oil has increased by Tk 300 per ounce and traded at Tk 5,600. Besides, the price of soybean has increased by Tk 200 per gram and has been traded at Tk 5,600.
According to consumer and market analysts, a month ago, traders applied for an increase in edible oil prices. The situation a month ago and now is not the same. The importers are now selling edible oil at a much lower price. In the meantime, the price of edible oil has fluctuated in the international market many times. There was no reflection of it in the market of Bangladesh. Moreover, there was no representation of consumers in the meeting where prices were fixed. So there was no opportunity for consumers to give their opinion. Moreover, when oil prices fall, they no longer lower prices. The government is not taking effective steps to control prices. Without raising oil prices, the government could control prices by lowering import duties. But instead of doing so, it has imposed an extra burden on the consumer.