Due to the machinations of dishonest traders, there is a severe scarcity of edible oil in the market.
Although the government-set price of non-bottled (loose) soybean oil is Tk 185 per litre and bottled oil Tk 195 per litre, the latter is being sold for up to Tk 205 per litre in the market.
Similarly, non-bottled palm oil is being sold at Tk 170-175 per litre instead of the fixed price of Tk 162 per litre.
Most grocery stores in the capital had a shortage of edible oil on Thursday.
Golam Ahmed, a grocer in Mohammadpur, said distributors had stopped supplying bottled oil for a month.
He said his supply ended on Monday.
Hafizul Islam Rokon, a Moulavibazar-based trader, said refiners had submitted a proposal to the commerce ministry to raise the prices of soybean oil.
He said the state-run Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission also supported the proposal and refiners were awaiting a readjustment by the government.
Refiners would start supplying oil once a price hike was announced, he said.
Refiners recently proposed increasing the price of bottled oil to Tk 207 per litre, citing adjustments with global prices.
However, the commerce ministry reacted negatively to the proposal and directed the Directorate of National Consumers Right Protection (DNCRP) to ramp up market monitoring.
In a notification, it said the government had come to know from media reports that many traders were charging higher prices for edible oil.
The DNCRP and other agencies concerned were told to take immediate action in this regard.
Meanwhile, Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said there was a lack of effective market monitoring and dishonest traders were controlling the market through a syndicate.
He said creating artificial crises to reduce supply in the market and selling at excessive prices was an organised fraud that must be stopped immediately.
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