Finding alternatives to soybean oil

Soybean oil is an inseparable part of our cooking. It seems we cannot spend a single day without using this particular oil while preparing our foods. However, the price of the most-consumed cooking oil has recently reached its historic high in Bangladesh. Customers now have to buy bottled soybean oil reportedly at Tk 198 per litre, which was Tk 160 earlier. With the latest increase, edible oil prices rose several times in the last one year although the existing prices are beyond the reach of the common people.
Despite its sky-high price, soybean oil is still unavailable in almost all the grocery stores. Only a few shops are selling the edible oil. But they are taking advantage of the crisis and charging more than the price the government had fixed.
In this situation, we urge the government to take up a concrete plan so that we can come away from our dependency on imported products like soybean and palm oils. And we should also think of replacing soybean oil with an equally good or better alternative. And our homegrown mustard oil can be that substitute while other oils including rice bran and coconut oils can also be considered as healthier options.
Afroza Sheikh,
Dania, Dhaka,
ilcbd2008@gmail.com