Home ›› 20 Mar 2023 ›› Front
The stock of edible oil and sugar is already around one and a half times higher than their possible demand during Ramadan, according to a Commerce Ministry report.
Six industrial groups currently have 3,02,163 metric tonnes of edible oil and five groups have 2,25,563 metric tonnes of sugar in stock. Also, 2,75,845 tonnes of edible oil and 5,99,050 tonnes of sugar are in the import pipeline.
These data were presented in the report at the sixth meeting, chaired by Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi at the ministry, of the task force that monitors commodity prices and the market situation on Sunday.
The country’s annual demand for edible oil is around 22 lakh metric tonnes and of that, the demand during Ramadan is about 3 lakh metric tonnes. About 65 per cent of this demand is for palm oil and 35 per cent for soybean oil.
Meanwhile, the annual demand for sugar is about 24 lakh metric tonnes. Of this, the demand during Ramadan is about 3 lakh metric tonnes.
According to meeting sources, City Group, Meghna Group, S Alam Group, TK Group, Bangladesh Edible Oil Limited (BEOL) and Bashundhara Group have 3,02,163 tonnes of edible oil in stock and another 2,75,845 tonnes are in the pipeline.
On the other hand, City Group, Meghna Group, S Alam Group, Abdul Monem Group and Deshbandhu Sugar Mills Limited have 2,25,563.68 tonnes of sugar in stock. Also, another 5,99,050 tonnes of sugar are in the pipeline.
Breakdown
Sources said that S Alam Group has the largest reserves of these two products — 1,84,269 tonnes of edible oil and 86,098.68 tonnes of sugar — at the moment.
The group also has 1,08,000 tonnes of edible oil and 3,85,000 tonnes of sugar in the pipeline.
Meghna Group has 46,239 tonnes of edible oil in stock and another 22,000 tonnes in the pipeline. It also has 50,000 tonnes of sugar in stock and another 60,500 tonnes in the pipeline.
City Group has 23,864 tonnes of edible oil and 66,865 tonnes of sugar in stock. It also has 32,000 tonnes of edible oil and 53,550 tonnes of sugar in the pipeline.
TK Group has 21,750 tonnes of edible oil, BEOL has 23,941 tonnes and Bashundhara Group has 2,100 tonnes in stock.
The three entities also have 46,000 tonnes, 32,845 tonnes and 35,000 tonnes, respectively, in the pipeline.
Moreover, Abdul Monem has 19,100 tonnes of sugar in stock and another 60,000 tonnes in the pipeline. Deshbandhu has 3,500 tonnes of sugar in stock and another 40,000 tonnes in the pipeline.
Measures
After the meeting, the commerce minister said they have talked to the businesses and they have at least 1.5 times more in stock than the demand during Ramadan. They also have more in the pipeline.
“As a result, there will be no problem in the supply of these two products in the market,” he said.
He said as the import duty on both raw and refined sugar was slashed last month, the prices of sugar can be reduced by Tk 4.5. “We have requested the traders to reduce it by Tk 5 per kg and they agreed.”
He hoped that the new lowered price would come into effect within the first week of Ramadan as the products that enjoyed the import duty cut are yet to hit the market.
Traders have said that they make a profit of Tk 5-6 when they sell sugar at the shops compared to the price at the mill gate and they will continue to do that. But they will also sell sugar in trucks at mill gate prices in Dhaka and other major cities on their initiative. Tipu Munshi said.
He added, “There is enough sugar. People have nothing to worry about. We will start monitoring from Monday.”
He stressed, “There is no reason [for people] to panic ahead of Ramadan. We have talked to the traders. There is no reason for the prices to go up in the market because of the amount of oil and sugar we already have in stock.”
“Do not start panic buying. There is no reason for that. There is enough in stock,” he said addressing the people of the country.
The minister also said that there is enough onion. Importing from India has been stopped so that local farmers can get a fair price and consumers can buy at a fair price.
He said, “But we will closely monitor and evaluate the market. If we see that the prices have started rising, then we’ll lift the restrictions on imports. There shouldn’t be any problem under any circumstances.”
He also added that all authorities concerned have been ordered to make sure essentials and vegetable-carrying vehicles do not face extortion on the highways during Ramadan.
