The government has no plan to hike the price of edible price within the next 15 days, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said on Wednesday.
"The decision will come after February 6," the minister made the statement during a press conference after a meeting with millers, refiners, wholesalers and importers of edible oil at his office in the Secretariat in the capital.
He also said, “India's biggest advantage is that their duty structure is less than ours. Where we have 18 to 20 per cent, they give 5 per cent. We have to consider all these.
“That is why I have requested the traders to give a little more time. We will increase the price by 7th of next month if we need to, that is, after 18 days. Necessary steps will be taken after considering everything.”
The traders had raised prices themselves without informing us. They (businessmen) said that they will consider it too, the minister added.
At present, bottled soybean oil is priced at Tk 180 per litre and open soybean oil at Tk 136 per litre.
Earlier, the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vegetable Manufacturers Association had sent a proposal to the Commerce Ministry demanding an increase in the price of oil due to the price increase in the international market.
