There is a new problem in Bangladesh’s edible oil market but as always, the consumers end up being the sufferers. The price of edible oil has dropped at the wholesalers’ level on the back of a slide in prices in the global market. But because of the rate fixed by the government, the retailers are still selling the products at higher prices.
Soybean oil is now selling at around Tk 160 a litre and palm oil at Tk 129-131 at Chattogram’s Khatunganj and Dhaka’s Moulvibazar wholesale markets. But at the retail level, loose soybean oil is selling at Tk 180 a litre and palm oil at Tk 158, which are the rates fixed by the government on June 26. Between June 1 and July 1, soybean oil prices dropped 24.6 per cent in the international market.
The prices need to be adjusted in the local market considering the prices are falling in the world market. Although the wholesale prices have come down by Tk 200 to Tk 300 per maund in one week, it is not having any impact on the retail market due to the government-fixed price. Using the excuse of higher prices in the international market, traders have raised the prices several times in the last three months.
Now, when the reverse is true, they are not changing the prices. It is unfortunate for us that the general public is not getting the benefit of the lower prices in the international market. The price of soybean oil has not dropped in Bangladesh following the international price due to the weakening of the Bangladesh taka in recent weeks. The commerce ministry once sets the price, so why not slash it for consumers’ benefits?
