As if to deepen the plight of consumers already reeling from unabated hike in prices of most essentials, the edible oil millers submitted a fresh proposal to the commerce ministry on Thursday, seeking a Tk 24 hike in prices of per litre of bottled soybean oil from next week.
They sought permission from the ministry to retail it at Tk 222 per litre from existing Tk 198, which was fixed only a month before with a hike of Tk 38 per litre.
The proposal, however, comes in contrast to a notable decline in the international prices of the item, According to indexmudi, a data portal that gathers facts and statistics from multiple sources, a tonne of soybean oil was traded between US$ 1,722 and US$ 1,727, lower from the average price of $1,947.51 per tonne in April and $1,960in March this year.
In a letter to the commerce secretary, the millers said they had submitted their cost sheet to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission on May 26, and now they want to adjust the price with effect from June 6 next.
Commerce secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh told the FE on Thursday that they would hold a meeting next week to check the global prices of the item and Bangladesh's import trend to decide about the proposed adjustment.
The Bangladesh Vegetables Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association said the production cost of refined soybean oil per litre now stands at Tk 196.54 while bottling, transportation, advertisement, filling, and packing costs add another Tk 16.20. So, the mill gate price stands at Tk 212.74 per litre.
The addition of Tk 10 as distributors' and shopkeepers' commission makes the retail price at Tk 222.74 per litre.
Meanwhile, commerce minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday told journalists that the price of palm oil in the global market has already fallen and soybean oil price is showing a similar trend.
So, there is no possibility of raising prices of the essential item in the domestic market, he added.
