Refiners have proposed to raise the maximum retail price (MRP) of edible oils by Tk 20 to Tk 205 per litre due to depreciation of local currency against US dollar.
They also proposed to increase the MRP of a five-litre bottle of soybean oil by Tk 50 to Tk 960 and loose oil from Tk 166 to Tk 180 per litre.
The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners' and Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association (BVORVMA) has submitted the proposal recently to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) for increasing the MRPs.
The proposal was submitted at a time when the prices of the cooking oil in the international market have started declining since May last.
The price of soybean oil was U$ 838 per tonne in 2020. The prices of crude soybean oil reached U$1,963 per tonne in May 2022, according to the World Bank estimate.
The BTTC prepares a daily commodity price report based on the Reuters information. According to the report, soybean oil prices were 31 per cent lower on July 31 than on May 23 last.
However, The BTTC is scrutinising the fresh proposal by the refiners and is expected to submit a report in this regard to the commerce ministry soon," said an official at the ministry.
When contacted, a senior official said the commerce ministry would not favour increasing the prices of cooking oil at this moment as the government has just raised the prices of fuel oils.
The ministry would take time to review the cooking oil prices, he added.
On July 17 last, the BVORVMA reduced the MRP of bottled edible oil by Tk 14 to Tk 185 per litre.
It also reduced the MRP of a five-litre soybean oil bottle by Tk 70 to Tk 910, loose soybean by Tk 14 to Tk 166 per litre and super palm oil by Tk 06 to Tk 152 per litre. The prices became effective at the retail level from July 21, 2022.
According to the commerce ministry, the country has a demand for over 2.0-2.2 million tonnes of edible oil annually, of which more than 95 per cent met through imports.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has extended the value added tax (VAT) exemption facility for cooking oil at both production and consumer levels until September next.
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