Refiners demand fresh hike in edible oil price

Edible oil refiners and millers in Bangladesh yesterday again proposed the government hike the price of cooking oil, saying the item has become costlier in the international markets.

They are now calling for an increase of a litre of bottled soybean oil to Tk 180 from Tk 168 effective from March 1.

In a letter to the senior secretary of the commerce ministry, the refiners urged the government to hike the edible oil price.

The refiners are also demanding the price of loose soybean oil be set at Tk 157 per litre although it is retailing at Tk 160 to Tk 167 now.

They urged the government to raise the price of the five-litre canned soybean oil to Tk 870. It is now being retailed at Tk 765 to Tk 790, which is already up 30 per cent from a year ago.

According to the proposal, the loose palm oil price should be set at Tk 150 per litre, from Tk 140 to Tk 147 now. The non-branded loose palm oil price has risen 41 per cent in the past one year. 

This is the second time this year the refiners are seeking an upward revision of the price of edible oil after crude edible oil price rose sharply in the international markets owing to demand recovery and supply chain disruptions.

On February 19, the commerce ministry gave approval to a proposal to increase the price of edible oil to Tk 168. Last year, edible oil price rose four times.

The annual demand for edible oil in Bangladesh is nearly 25 lakh tonnes of which more than 10 per cent is met by local producers in mainly the form of mustard oil. The rest of the demand is met through imports.