Business Desk :
In a slight relief to local consumers, prices of some essential commodities in the international markets are finally coming down.
According to sources and other reports, prices of crude palm oil, crude soybean oil, crude and refined sugar and wheat dropped slightly, while that of rice in the international market rose on December 21, 2021 slightly compared to the price of the commodity one month back.
If this downward trend continues, consumers in Bangladesh will get a sigh of relief in the month of Ramadan, slated to begin in April next year.
Price of crude palm oil, produced mainly in Malaysia, dropped 9.76% in the international market compared to the price a month ago.
The price of one ton Malaysian crude palm oil was selling at $1,220 on December 21, 2021 as against $1,352 a month back.
However, the price of one ton Malaysian palm oil was $868 a year back showing a 40.55% rise in price of the commodity year-in-year. Price of Brazilian crude soybean oil dropped 5.78% in the international market from $1,287 on December 21, 2021 to $1,366 a month back.
However, the price of one ton Brazilian oil was $856.71 one year back showing a 50.23% rise in price of the commodity year-in-year. Bangladesh consumed 1.3 million tons in the year 2020-21, registering a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 5% since 2017-18.
However, palm oil consumption grew 0.5% during this period, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Bangladesh’s palm oil consumption was 1.61 million tonnes in the year 2020-21 up from 1.58 million tonnes three year ago, said the US agency in its “Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade” report released recently.
The report also said that Bangladesh was the fifth palm oil importing nation after India, China, the European Union and Pakistan in marketing year 2020-21 while it was the third largest soybean oil importer the same year.
Price of Brazilian crude sugar dropped 7.35% in the international market compared to the price of the product a month ago from $403 dollars on December 21, 2021 to $434.97 a month back.
However, its price was $306 one year back showing a 31.70% rise in price of the commodity year-in-year.
Price of refined sugar, sold online in the London market, dropped 6.74% in the international market compared to the price of the product a month ago.
Its price for a tonne was $486.5 on December 21, 2021 as against $521.65 one month back.
However, the price of one tonne refined sugar was $395.40 one year back showing a 23.04% rise in price of the commodity year-in-year.
