The new price of soybean oil has been fixed by reducing its price by Taka 10 per liter, said Commerce Ministry Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh.
He informed that from now on the price of per liter packaged soybean oil has been fixed at Taka 189, per liter loose soybean oil has been reduced by Taka 9 to Taka 167 while per liter palm oil has been reduced by Taka 2 to Taka 133 at retail level, reports BSS.
The Senior Commerce Secretary informed this to reporters after chairing the 7th meeting of the taskforce on reviewing the price of essentials and the market situation held at the Ministry of Commerce conference room on Sunday.
Taskforce members, representatives from the state agencies including law enforcers, FBCCI, importers, retailers and wholesalers attended the meeting.
After the meeting, the Commerce Secretary said various issues including soybean, onion, garlic and ginger prices has been discussed. "We've discussed on what is the current import situation of the consumed products, what should be the prices of the items," he said.
He said if the price remains static in the international market, then the price of local edible oil will be reduced.
Tapan said the price of onion has started falling in the market. So far, the agriculture ministry has issued import permissions (IP) for importing more than 0.54 million tons of onions. Around 30000 tons have already arrived in the country.
He hoped that the price of onion will be further reduced in the market when the rest of the quantity of onion enters the local market.
Replying to a question, senior commerce secretary said that considering the demand, there is no shortage of supply in the country except for sugar, wheat and ginger in the last one year.
Tapan said that hopefully edible oil would be available in the market with the new price within the next two to three days while it is under review to reduce further the price of edible oil before the Holy Eid ul Azha.
He also hoped that it would also be possible to reduce the price once again before the biggest festival of the Muslims.
"The government has taken all kinds of efforts for keeping prices of other products stable in the market," he added.
Tapan cited that there is a shortage of ginger in the domestic market due to a halt in import of the goods from China. "Necessary steps have already been taken to solve the problem," he said.
"Local traders have assured to keep the prices of essential commodities stable in the market," he said.
According to the information presented at the meeting, the price of crude soybean oil in the world market on June 8, 2023 declined by 43.77 per cent compared to June 8, 2022. Palm oil prices fell by 48.69 per cent. But, the global price reduction trend is yet to be reflected in the country's local market.
The Commerce ministry said that the prices of all products except ginger and sugar have declined in the international market in the last one year.
Tapan said that import of wheat and sugar declined by 24 lakh tonnes and 72,000 tonnes respectively within the last one year. Lower import volume has affected the market prices.
The entire demand for local sugar almost depends on import. For this reason, the price has to be fixed in line with the global market. The price of sugar in the international market has been stable for the last couple of days, the senior secretary said.
The government remains committed to ensuring a balanced and affordable market for essential goods and products, he added.
