Soybean oil is an essential cooking ingredient. However, its price does not seem to be coming down any time soon. Rather, its price has reportedly been recommended to be raised by Tk 7.0 to Tk 160 per litre. If this happens, the hardship of common consumers will intensify further. The refiners are blaming the local price hike of edible oil on this essential item's price volatility in the global market, so say media reports. Here comes the question of why they did not store enough oil for the coming days.
Bangladesh imports 2.2 to 2.6 million tonnes of edible oil annually, including 0.7 to 0.8 million tonnes of soybean oil and 1.4 to 1.6 million tonnes of palm oil. More than 95 per cent of the local demand is met through imports. However, it is surprising that there are only a few refiners, who are importing oils to meet the demand of the whole country. We strongly urge the authorities concerned to increase the number of refiners to break the monopoly of these importers. Our commerce ministry should also initiate stringent monitoring especially on oil mills, many of whom hide their actual stock to create artificial shortage in the market.
Abu Elias Linkon,
Banasree, Dhaka,
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