Sudden market volatility with price spirals invites action as the government starts assessing the import, supply and stock positions of edible oils with refiners and traders, officials say.
To this end, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) has asked the country's edible-oil refiners to furnish the import, stock, delivery information and customs documents on the cooking oils by Monday, they add.
The key objective of the move is to prevent 'illogical tendency' of unscrupulous traders for jacking up oil prices above justifiable levels.
"The DNCRP will conduct necessary drives in every refinery after receiving the information sought from them," says one official.
The state agency under the commerce ministry communicated with the refiners for the information on March 03, as reports say some oligopolies are creating an 'artificial crisis' through manipulating supply to make a killing on the market amid geopolitical tensions triggered by the Russia-Ukraine war.
When conducted, a senior official said, "We have asked the oil refiners to give all types information, including import, stock, delivery, refining volume of edible oils by Monday next."
On the excuse of increasing prices of edible oils on the international market, the refiners increased the oil prices several times. They often are proposing to raise the prices of cooking oils, he adds.
"We have learnt that a section of traders are playing foul with the prices of edible oils. They are raising the prices more than what is supposed to be increased," a high official said, requesting not to be named.
The government wants to take stern action against unscrupulous traders who will try to play foul for making a hefty profit by creating an artificial crisis of edible oils in the domestic markets, he warns.
Recently, the country's oil refiners had proposed increasing soybean-oil prices to Tk 180 per litre from Tk 168.
Their proposed rate still remains Tk 12 per-litre higher than the rate-Tk 168 per litre-fixed by the government on February 06 last.
The government rejected a previous proposal for raising the oil rates recently. Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said this at a press briefing held at the commerce ministry on March 02.
A section of unscrupulous traders have now been selling the bottled edible oil turning in the loose format to make a hefty profit as the demand of the edible oil started skyrocketing in the local kitchen markets recently, a source said.
"We have also found such anomalies of making loose or unpacked edible oil by cutting the bottled edible oil as they cannot manipulate the price of bottled edible oil," he also says.
The unscrupulous traders should not manipulate the prices of bottled edible oil as the government fixed prices, the commerce minister mentioned at the briefing.
The soybean-oil price had increased several times last year due to increase in its price on the global market following economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter, Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (BVORVMA) recently said they are now in dilemma over opening letter of credits (LC) for importing edible oils and about the LC issue.
The association has sought required direction from the government side in this LC situation.
The BVORVMA claims that the prices of edible oils have increased unexpectedly on the global market. Price of per-tonne soybean and palm oils increased to US$1700-1725 and U$1690-1710 respectively.
The BVORVMA thinks that if it is imported at that increased price from the international market, the price will increase proportionately on the local market.
Bangladesh annually imports 2.2 million to 2.6 million tonnes of edible oils, including 0.7 million to 0.8 million tonnes of soybean oil, and 1.4 million to 1.6 million tonnes of palm oil. More than 95 per cent of the local demand is met through import.
