Prices of edible oils have gone up this Ramadan despite a downward trend in the global market for the past six months.
Market observers said a cartel of importers and traders is eating up all the benefits of the reduction in the cooking oil prices in the international market.
But importers say otherwise -- they attribute this hike in edible oil prices to the shipment cost.
The prices of palm and soybean are rising in different kitchen markets in the city.
Soybean has been retailing at Tk 88-Tk 92 per litre (loose) and at Tk 107-Tk 110 per litre (bottled) in Dhaka for one week and a half.
Market sources said the commodity rose in prices by Tk 2-Tk 5 per litre (both loose and bottled) before the beginning of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Palm oil now sells at Tk 78-Tk 82 (super) and Tk 75-Tk 76 (normal) per litre at the retail level.
Rupchanda, a soybean brand of Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited (BEOL), started selling oil in new bottles at Tk 110 per litre from May 11, according to groceries.
Other local soybean brands like Teer were selling at Tk 106-Tk 108 a kilogram.
TM Rashed Khan, assistant director at the Department of Agricultural Marketing, said edible oils, including soybean and palm, have gone down in prices in the global market for half a year.
He said soybean witnessed 6.0 to 6.5 per cent fall in prices from last November. Palm oil declined 7.0 to 7.8 per cent.
"Soybean prices cost an importer Tk 68-Tk 72 per kg considering the rates during the November-April period," Rashed said.
"Palm (best quality) cost an importer not more than Tk 60-65 per kg considering the prices between March and August."
"There has been an unusual price gap between the import and wholesale levels and also between wholesale and retail levels," he said.
Bangladesh Edible Oil Wholesale Merchants' Association president Mohammad Golam Maula told the FE that prices have risen by Tk 2-3 a litre at mill gates.
Retailers in the city are charging much higher than wholesale prices, he pointed out.
Maula said soybean oil now costs retailers Tk 82-Tk 83 a litre, but they are selling the same at Tk 92-Tk 94.
He underpinned the need for increased government monitoring to reduce the price gap.
Biswajit Saha, general manager (finance) of City Group that owns edible oil brand 'Teer', said his company has not raised prices.
Teer has been selling at Tk 107 a kg for the past two months, he told the FE. Soybean (loose) has been selling at Tk 75 a litre for a week now, he added.
According to the global trade web portals, soybean prices had been $830-$850 per tonne (1,000 kg) and palm oil below $700 per tonne for the past six months.
The price of soybean was $860 per tonne in December. It declined to $830 a tonne in April, shows the global commodity web portal Index Mundi.
When asked, Mahmudul Hasan, spokesperson for Bangladesh Tariff Commission, said they are yet to be informed of any hike in the edible oil prices by traders.
"Rather, we are now reviewing the prices of essentials with an aim to make a proposal to the commerce ministry to readjust the rates with the global prices," he said. Consumers' Association of Bangladesh President Golam Rahman said importers could have reduced the prices at least in February following the global prices.
Bangladesh now imports more than 1.6 million tonnes of edible oil against the demand for 1.8-2.0 million tonnes.
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