Hardship of the consumers is going to be intensified further as soybean oil prices have been raised to Tk153 a litre on Thursday, marking a Tk 9.0 a litre hike just in a week.
The decision came at a meeting between the refiners and the commerce ministry on Thursday chaired by Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.
It is the second time that in just one week, the price of edible oil has been raised from the MRP of Tk 144 a litre.
The refiners attributed the hike to the rocketing trend in the global market, a press release issued by the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (BVORVMA) said.
The Association also fixed MRP of five-litre soybean jar at Tk 728, loose soybean Tk 129 from Tk 685 and 122 earlier. Loose super palm oil MRP was fixed as Tk 112 a litre on the day.
The Association said it sent a proposal to raise prices on May 19, 2021, following the surge in the international market.
It said edible oil prices have been increased by 160 per cent in a year when it was 35 per cent in the domestic market.
Bangladesh imports 2.2 to 2.6 million tonnes of edible oil annually, including 0.7 to 0.8 million tonnes of soybean oil and 1.4 to 1.6 million tonnes of palm oil.
More than 95 per cent of the local demand is met through imports.
tonmoy.wardad@gmail.com, rezamumu@gmail.com