Shah Alam Nur :
Most consumers are eating palm oil which is, however, passed as Soybean oil by dealers in the market.
Cheating of consumers is going on unchecked and unabated in absence of monitoring by Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and such other regulatory bodies.
Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRO) officials said they would look into the mater and fine shop owners and dealers if any one brings allegation to the regulatory body.
It means there are no allegation, no market monitoring and no punishment.
So, people are paying for costly soybean oil but getting low cost palm oil in markets across the country, it was alleged.
Over 70 per cent of the imported edible oil of the country is palm, while at the retail shops a customer can hardly find any palm oil.
A litre of palm oil was being sold between Tk 98 and Tk 100 at city’s Karwan Bazar, Mohammadpur or Kaptan Bazar areas on Monday in the name of soybean oil.
Karwan Bazar wholesale trader Abdur Rahaman claimed that the actual retail cost of a litre of palm oil should not be more than Tk 80 as distributors sold it at Tk 78 per litre to them.
Meanwhile, many of the less known pet bottled brands of fake soybean oil is also being marketed across the country which are basically palm oil, Karwan Bazar shopkeeper Razul Karim said.
He said the import cost of a litre of palm oil is Tk 30 to Tk 35 less than that of soybean oil.
According to the customs import data, the country imported a total of 1.77 million tonnes of edible oil in 2015. Of which 1.25 million tonnes are palm. This import figure meant that 72 per cent of total imported oil is palm oil.
The Bangladesh Consumers Association (CAB) has pointed out this problem long, long ago but no step has been taken till date, Ghulam Rahman, President of CAB told The New Nation on Monday.
He said the government should introduce some strict regulatory measures so that the retailers cannot cheat the consumers.
Director General of Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRO) Abul Hossain Mia said if any customer lodges any cheating complaint the DNCRO can impose fine on a particular shopkeeper.
“Customers are not still aware about their rights. If they are cheated and if they subsequently file any complaint, the customers can get half of the money imposed as penalty,” he said.
Sources said dysfunctional monitoring system and a state of oligopoly among the refiners and importers have led to a fall in the country’s edible oil quality, prompting an unbridled price hike.
He said in 2015 palm oil occupied about 64 per cent market share among the three major edible oils followed by soybean oil with 28 per cent market share and canola/mustard oil with 8.0 per cent share.
Due to the lack of functional monitoring, the refiners sold about 80 per cent of the imported palm oil in the name of soybean oil with premium prices.
Bangladesh produces only 10 per cent of its requirement of oil and hence has to import the rest 90 per cent.
Palm oil is mainly used as cooking oil. Besides, it is also used as one of important raw materials for shortening, vanaspati production, biscuit and bakery industries, food industries, namely, potato chips, fried snack foods, instant noodles, condensed milk, chocolate industries and ice cream.
