Cooking oil has witnessed a further hike in its prices in the past several days as prices of palm and loose soybean oil increased again by Tk4-7 on the litre.
Market insiders said it was highly unnatural, given how global prices of the two cooking oil varieties had gone down in the last three months.
Loose soybean oil price jumped to Tk180-182 a litre, despite the government-fixed rate of Tk167, according to cooking oil vendors.
The government also fixed the maximum rate of palm oil at Tk117 per litre in December last.
Super palm oil price, which already was Tk147-150 per litre, further surged to Tk154-155 a litre, said traders.
However, one-litre branded soybean oil was selling at the government-fixed rate of Tk187 whereas half-litre branded oil was selling at Tk98-100 defying the government rate.
Md Golam Mawla, president of Bangladesh Wholesale Cooking Oil Merchants Association, said oil refiners were not delivering their supply orders as per the stipulated time.
Traders are getting oil as much as one month later, he added.
As a result, supply orders are being exchanged among two to three hands, thus raising prices, he pointed out.
Mawla also said trucks had to wait for up to five days at the mill gate to have the supply of the commodity when a truck has to count Tk4,500 in demurrage for a day’s stay.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Vice-President SM Nazer Hossain said the government should start strict monitoring to bring a check and balance in the market as the fasting month is just a month ahead.
He said the authorities concerned should force the refiners to sell cooking oil at the fixed rates approved by the government with the refiners’ consent.
He said the surge in cooking oil prices is happening at a time when its global prices showed a decline.
Hossain also urged the government to come up with a logical solution so that traders could open their required letters of credit (LCs) in time to bring import-dependent commodity items.
The country has a demand for 2.2 million tonnes of cooking oils, of which it imports 90-92%, said the Commerce Ministry.
Of the imported cooking oils, soybean comprised 42% and palm oil 50% in 2022.
