Edible oil market has almost gone out of control just before the Eid, to be celebrated this week.
On Saturday, loose soybean oil was sold at a maximum of Tk 220 per litre at retail.
The price increased by Tk 30 a litre in the last three days and Tk 50 a litre in one and a half weeks, according to vendors.
Rising demand ahead of Eid as well as low supply by refiners, and a lack of market monitoring caused such volatility in the edible oil market, insiders said.
All rice varieties, chicken, beef and tomato also witnessed a further hike, battering the city consumers before the Eid-ul-Fitr - one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims.
While visiting different areas in Dhaka on Saturday, the FE correspondent found that most of the groceries had stopped displaying bottled branded oil while many were charging Tk 15-20 a litre more than the real MRP.
A number of consumers claimed that groceries were forcing them to buy other items too if they wanted to purchase edible oil.
Hasan Ali, a resident of Nazrul Islam Road in the city's Mohammadpur area, was found bargaining with a grocer on Saturday morning.
He said he was charged Tk 180 for one litre bottle of soybean oil by a grocer, who was forcing him to buy other grocery items too.
Grocer Abdul Hamid said all the distributors had stopped supplying oil for the last one month.
He sourced the bottles at much higher rates from a third party in Sadeq Khan Krishi Market area.
Another grocer named Md Belal at Dhanmondi-9 said his grocery had been going out of soybean oil for the last seven days.
Distributors will not supply oil before Eid, he said.
The distributors said the product with a new price tag of Tk 185 per litre might be supplied by the refiners after a possible meeting with the government in the second week of May.
Few grocers obtained oil from distributors only if they purchased other products from the same distributors, added Mr Belal.
Therefore, the shop owners are applying the same technique on the customers, said some grocers.
Meanwhile, loose soybean oil was sold at a maximum of Tk 220 a litre by vendors in many markets of the city.
Fatema Begum, a domestic-help at Rayer Bazar, said she had bought 500 ml of loose soybean oil at Tk 110 on Saturday, meaning the price of one-litre oil was Tk 220. She bought loose edible oil at Tk 160 a litre a week back.
Ms Begum said they had reduced consumption of oil notably amid a hike in prices by more than 100 per cent just in a year.
Even the price of loose palm oil also jumped to Tk 190 a litre in the markets.
Jakir Ahsan Rony, an oil vendor at Nawabganj Bazar in the city, said he had sourced soybean oil from a trader at Tk 190 a litre three days back.
The distributors stopped supplying the essential commodity from one and a half months back, he said.
He said many vendors were sourcing five-litre branded oil and were turning it into loose oil to get more profits.
Bangladesh Paikari Vojjo Tel Baboshayee Samity (an association of wholesalers) President Md Golam Mawla told the FE that the refiners had almost stopped supplying the item.
A few refiners control the whole market, he said, adding that the government should force the refiners to sell products as per their commitment to the government.
Meanwhile, the FE tried to reach some major refiners over the phone but failed till filing of the report as of 7:00pm on Saturday.
An official of a leading refiner, however, repeated that the global hike in soybean and palm oil forced the refiners to squeeze imports in recent months.
He said soybean crude price increased to US$2020 a tonne, excluding freight and other charges, in April.
The US dollar has also gained notably against Bangladeshi currency during the period, thus raising import costs further, added the official.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice President SM Nazer Hossain said the government had failed to take control over the refiners and the consumers were paying the price.
The benefit of cutting import taxes by the government on edible oil hasn't been seen in the market, he said, adding that the government should immediately make an action plan to bring stability in the essential market during this volatile period.
Unscrupulous company owners should be given capital punishment for their wrongdoings, he added.
However, prices of common rice varieties have also witnessed a Tk 2.0-4.0 a kg hike in the last couple of days in the city.
Aromatic rice varieties chinigura and kalijeera were retailed at Tk 130-140 a kg (branded) and Tk 115-125 a kg (loose) on Saturday at their previous high.
While BRRI dhan 28 rice was retailed at Tk 56-60, Miniket Tk 70-78 and Najairshail at Tk 75-90 a kg in the retail depending on varieties.
All chicken varieties witnessed a Tk 20-40 a kg hike further on Saturday.
Tomato was retailed at Tk 60 a kg marking Tk 20 a kg hike in the last two days, according to traders.
Pricey beef further became pricier by Tk 20 a kg as sold at Tk 700-780 a kg in different city areas on the day.
