Economic Reporter :
The government has reduced the price of loose palm oil by Tk3 per litre. According to a press release of Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association issued Tuesday, the price of per litre palm oil has been reduced by Tk3 to Tk130.
Just a day before, the price of per litre bottled soybean oil was reduced by Tk8 to Tk160 and for its loose form; the rate was lowered by Tk7 to Tk136.
The price was set at a meeting of edible oil refiners and government officials at the commerce ministry.
Earlier, in the wake of rising oil prices in the international market, businesses had sought to increase edible oil prices by the end of February. But the commerce ministry suspended the price hike process.
This was followed by instability in the cooking oil market – with refiners cutting supplies and wholesalers raising prices through syndication.
The government has already cut value added tax (VAT) on imports of edible oil to 5% from 15% and withdrawn a 15% VAT on production stage and 5% on consumer level.
According to the Commerce Ministry, the country’s annual demand for soybean and palm oil is 18 lakh tonnes, which is met through imports.
