Edible oil price may come down soon: Tipu

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday said that edible oil price may come down soon in the local markets as the price of the cooking oil started to decline in the international markets.

"The good news is that the prices of crude edible oil started declining in the international markets. There is a possibility of reduction of price of edible oil in the domestic markets," Tipu said at a press conference held at his secretariat office in the capital.

The minister was speaking at the press conference on the occasion of the second national tea day celebration to be held on June 4.

He said within next six or seven days, the Commerce Ministry will assess the data on edible oil import, prices in local and international markets, supply and stock of May to fix the new price level of cooking oil in the domestic markets.

Earlier, the bottled edible oil price was increased by Tk 38 per litre to Tk 198 from Tk 160 per litre last month following the price hike of the cooking oil in the international market.

The price was hiked despite taking a wide range of remedial measures like VAT reduction to 5 percent from 15 per cent in last March.

The price of edible oil increased abnormally in the domestic markets following the rise in the prices of cooking oil in the international markets and export ban of palm oil by Indonesia.

However, the Indonesian government withdrew the ban on export of palm oil last week which has mainly eased the supply of edible oil in the international markets.

Moreover, the reports are showing that the price of soybean oil is also declining in the international markets, the minister added.

Tipu said that the prices of imported goods went up in the local markets because of abnormal hike in freight charge and devaluation of local currency against the US dollar.

However, the state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) will resume its sales of six basic commodities including the edible oil at cheaper rate to one crore families across the country from June 15, to ease the burden on the poor people.

Bangladesh's annual requirement of edible oil is 20 lakh tonnes.

Usually, the demand rises during the Holy month of Ramadan by 2.5 lakh tonnes to 3 lakh tones because of food habits of people in the month of fasting, according to data from the commerce ministry.

Only around 2.03 lakh tonnes can be provided through local production while the rest of the demand has to be met through imports.

Out of edible oil imports, some 5 lakh tonnes comprise crude soybean oil while some 24 lakh tonnes of soybean seed are imported.

From the imported soybean seed, some 4 lakh tonnes of edible oil is produced.

Bangladesh imports 11 lakh tonnes of crude palm oil and of the quantity some 85 per cent come from Indonesia.

Regarding the price hike of rice, the commerce minister said a section of traders have been making a brisk business making an artificial crisis of the staple food in the local markets.

When asked, he said stopping the sale of packaged rice is a legal issue.

Tipu said the Ministry of Agriculture has been monitoring the price hike of the rice issue. "If the Agriculture Ministry wants the assistance from the commerce ministry, it will help in monitoring the rice price hike in the local markets."

The minister observed that a section of affluent people have been buying the coarse packaged rice at higher prices although those coarse rice were supposed to be sold at lower prices.

He also said some three-crore people are below the poverty line and the government has been trying to improve their fates while five crore people have the buying capacity that of western consumers