Citing rising prices in the international market, distributors in Bangladesh are once again seeking to increase the prices of soybean and palm oil. Refiners and marketers of edible oil have proposed a hike of Tk 10 per litre.
A meeting on the issue between traders and the Ministry of Commerce is scheduled for Sunday (21 September).
The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association stated that the international price of soybean oil has reached USD 1,200 per tonne. Recently, the prices of soybean and palm oil have risen by 18–20 percent. Therefore, they have proposed a price adjustment.
However, the Ministry of Commerce believes that the proposed prices are too high. Secretary Mahbubur Rahman said, “Compared to the international market, their proposal is unusual. We are reviewing the matter, and a decision will be made after discussions with the traders.”
The Trade and Tariff Commission usually reviews such proposals.
Earlier, on 12 August, the government reduced the price of palm oil by Tk 19, setting it at Tk 150 per litre, while soybean oil remained unchanged at Tk 189 per litre. Before that, in April, soybean oil was set at Tk 189 and palm oil at Tk 169 per litre.
Meanwhile, from 15 September, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) imposed a 1 percent source tax on the import of soybean, sunflower, palm, and maize oil. Traders claim that this measure is also affecting the edible oil market.
