Sales of loose edible oil continue defying laws

Retailers had once bought loose salt from the wholesale market and sold it to the customers. But now the companies supply edible salt almost in packets.

Like salt, many essentials, including edible oil, sugar, pulses and spices, also are now available in packets, but cent percent packaging has not been ensured yet. As a result, a two-way trend has been created in the market due to difference in the prices, quality and supply system.

Besides, price is not adjusted at wholesale, retail and factory level. At the same time, traders are asking for prices at whim. So, consumers often lodge complaints against them making excessive profits.

Many businessmen, ministries concerned, various organisations working to protect consumer rights said it is imperative to package goods to ensure the maximum retail price and the quality of all essentials, including oil, sugar, pulses, spices and liquid milk, in the market.

If the products are packaged, the prices will be printed on the packets and wholesalers or retailers cannot ask for unreasonable or excessive prices. In addition, low-quality products cannot enter the market.

Though all concerned want to introduce the packaging system, it has not been developed yet. Despite efforts, the government has not been able to fully bring edible oil under the packaging system in the last few years.

It was not possible even through discussions and announcements from the industries ministry, commerce ministry and food safety authority.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the country has an annual demand for 20-25 lakh tonnes of edible oil and 18-20 lakh tonnes of sugar. Among these, 65 per cent of oil and almost 100 per cent of sugar are sold loose.

Jashim Uddin, president of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said, “We are going to be a developing country and we are talking about smart Bangladesh, but still we are following the conventional system in terms of consumer goods.”

“We have to come out of this conventional system. Sales of loose products, including edible oil, should be stopped. Then we can resolve many kinds of market problems. If price is printed on the packet, the problem regarding unreasonable price will be solved.”

He added: “I would request the commerce ministry to let us work together on this matter. It may not be done overnight, but we have to do it anyway.”

The industries ministry earlier directed to stop the sales of loose soybean oil by July 31 and loose palm oil by December 31 last year.

But Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Manufacturers Association seeks 19 more months to stop the sales of loose edible oil at that time, saying that they have yet to set up infrastructure.

The association wrote to the ministry of industry and the ministry of commerce seeking extension of the time till December 2023 to stop the sales of loose oil.

Efforts are underway to stop the sales of loose soybean and palm oil under the technical assistance scheme undertaken by the industries ministry. But this process has been hanging for almost a decade in the face of opposition from the refineries.

In 2013, the government framed a new law to abolish the delivery order (DO) system and introduce the distributor system. The government has also banned open sales of oil in the law.

However, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) inspected several oil refineries and said, “It is possible to bottle edible oil within the stipulated time only if the refineries are sincere.”

BSTI issued a directive to stop trading of loose edible oil in December last. According to which, the government has banned the sales and purchase of edible oil in drums from January 1, 2023. No oil can be sold loose. Traders sell low-quality oil in unhygienic environment. But it could not be stopped even in the last two months.

BSTI Deputy Director (CM) Riazul Haque said they are still warning the traders against open sales. “We will conduct drives from Ramadan. In this case, we will take action the retailers first, then the suppliers and refiners.”

“If the ministry takes any new decision in this regard, we will take action accordingly,” he added.

Director General of Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) Shafiquzzaman said they also want oil and sugar to be packaged. The commerce ministry has been working on it for a long time and the industries ministry also made packaging of edible oil mandatory. But it didn’t work because refineries said they don’t have 100 per cent packaging capacity.

“If the product is packaged, the price will be slightly higher than production cost. This is also a factor here,” he added.

Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh said they want all products packaged to come in the market, and prices and ingredients should be mentioned on the packets. “But every time when we take action, there is opposition from refiners. It is not possible to implement it until the traders themselves get the sense of selling good products and keeping the market stable.”