After a fresh hike in edible oil prices by refiners, the state-run TCB seeks to increase the rate by Tk 10 per litre under its open-market sale (OMS) programme, sources said.
The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) also seeks to enhance Tk 5.0 in the price of lentil per kilo in the already overheated commodity market.
It has proposed the rate at Tk 110 per litre of soybean oil and Tk 60 per kilo of lentil at the retail level.
It has placed the proposal to the commerce ministry to approve the new rates from the next OMS drive.
The TCB fears that dealers and consumers can sell the items illegally for a big price gap between the current market price and the TCB price.
The price gap is also ballooning the volume of the government's subsidy, according to the TCB proposal.
The TCB has 8,135,549 litres of soybean oil and over 5,287 tonnes of lentil in its current stock.
More than Tk 401 million will be needed as subsidy if the proposed price rates are made effective from the November OMS drive, it says.
A recent board meeting of the trading body has made the decision in view of the upward movement in edible oil prices in the international market.
The TCB's procurement price is thus increasing, hints a senior commerce ministry official.
Lower-income consumers' woes are set to rise further as soybean oil prices have been raised to Tk 110 a litre, says a regular OMS buyer.
The price gap between OMS and kitchen market soybean is gradually narrowing due to price readjustments under the OMS programme, he adds.
The OMS soybean price was Tk 80 per litre in April 2020. Later, the TCB fixed the rate at Tk 90.
Currently, soybean oil is being sold at Tk 100 per litre and lentil at Tk 55 per kilo by TCB trucks and dealers.
Once approved, it will be traded at Tk 110 and lentil at Tk 60 per kilo from November, according to a TCB source.
Recently, the prices of soybean and lentil have increased in the global market.
Local refiners have increased the maximum retail price (MRP) of edible oil. The MRP of bottled soybean oil has been fixed at Tk 160 a litre from Tk 153 earlier.
