The Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) on Saturday demanded that edible oil prices be readjusted in the local market following their decline in the international market.
Expressing concern in a statement, CAB vice president SM Nazer Hossain said the local market usually does not reduce prices of edible oil when the prices show a downward trend in the international market. Traders increase the prices immediately after they show upward in the global market.
He also raised a question about the role of Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) saying the Commission does not work properly to protect the interests of consumers.
The CAB statement also mentioned that the government took different initiatives to keep stable the prices of edible oils, including waiver of value added tax (VAT) on their import; but consumers were not benefitted as the prices were high in the local market.
The price of soybean oil increased five times from October 2021 to June 2022 in the local market, it mentions.
The government revised the prices of oils several times and those were revised again on June 9.
The government, refiners and traders fixed mill-gate price of loose soybean oil at Tk180 a litre, Tk182 at distributor level, and Tk185 at retail level.
The mill-gate price of pet bottle soybean oil was fixed at Tk195 a litre, Tk199 at distributor level, and Tk205 at retail level.
The mill-gate rate of palm oil was fixed at Tk153 a litre, Tk155 at distributor level, and Tk 158 at consumer level.
The price of soybean oil dropped by US$ 200 to 490 per tonne in the last three months. But local traders increased the price by Tk51 per litre in one month.
The average price of crude soybean oil was US$ 765 a tonne in the international market in 2019, $838 in 2020 and $1,385 in 2021.
The price of soybean oil increased to $ 1,956 a tonne in March 2022. The last update of soybean oil is $1353 and palm oil $941 on July 13 this year, the statement said.
