Edible oil prices 'to fall by end of this month'

---

Doulot Akter Mala
The government is monitoring the retail and wholesale prices of edible oil in the local market as it has found that the import costs has declined by about 47 per cent in recent months.
"We've observed the prices of edible oil before Eid and will continue to do so. The main reason for the recent unusual price hike was the Eid-ul-Azha festival. The prices will go down by end of this month," said commerce secretary Feroz Ahmed on Thursday.
Just ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, prices of edible oil went up by Tk 20 per kg compared to that of the previous month.
According to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), prices of per kilogram soybean oil (non-packed) increased by 15 per cent while palm oil (non-packed) by 28.23 per cent despite satisfactory trend of import and supply.
The ministry of commerce has assessed the international prices and freight costs of edible before Eid-ul-Azha celebration to find out the reason of continuous hike in palm and soybean oil prices.
The ministry also requested the country's apex chamber body to review the issue following sudden upward trend of retail and wholesale prices of edible oil.
The ministry of commerce has sent a letter to the country's apex chamber body to follow-up the issue.
"Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) will inform the commerce ministry after holding meetings with the concerned importers and businessmen about the cause of upward trend in prices despite significant decline in the international prices," said Mr. Feroz.
"I am hopeful that prices of edible oil will go down further by the end of this month as the trend of opening letters of credit (L/Cs) is satisfactory," commerce secretary said.
It takes time to adjust commodity prices with the falling trend while it escalates rapidly with any increase in costs, he said.
The importers claimed that they have to release oil at higher than current prices from the port due to taxation complexities, he added.
The existing ad valorem tax on edible oil is 18.75 per cent which includes 15.75 per cent VAT and 3.0 per cent Advance Income Tax (AIT).
"We took precautionary measures fearing the creation of artificial supply shortage of the commodity ahead of Eid," Mr Feroz said.
On November 10, the commerce ministry has requested the central bank to take some steps to help the importers keep smooth flow of import adjusting with the declining prices.
In line with the request, the BB has relaxed import-financing rules for edible oil along with other two essentials wheat and pulses. Local demand of edible oil is around 1.3 million tonnes a year.