Cooking Oil Crisis Deepens Ahead of Eid

Consumers' problems with cooking oil have worsened, with retail stores in Dhaka and the rest of the country apparently out of supplies barely a day before Eid-ul-Fitr.

Grocers have complained dealers at Mirpur Shah Ali Market, Mohammadpur Krishi Market, and Karwan Bazar, the largest wholesale market in the country, refused to sell to them soybean and palm oil in bulk in the last two days.

As a result, stores are unable to provide their customers' preferred cooking oil to those who, out of desperation, have substituted mustard oil, sunflower oil, or rice bran oil.

Despite the fact that the government has already exempted the value-added tax on cooking oil imports in order to keep prices down, retailers claim they are being compelled to buy from dealers at a higher price.

The government decided to set a higher price ceiling for soybean oil ahead of Ramadan after considering import costs and the situation of the local market.

The price of bottled soybean oil was Tk 160 per litre, whereas loose soybean oil was Tk 140. Tk 130 per litre was set as the price of palm super oil.

Some retailers, who did not want to be identified, said they were able to get bottled soybean oil for more than Tk 200 per litre and are selling it to customers at an even higher price.

Consumers claim that a trade cartel generated market volatility, causing prices of loose soybean oil to skyrocket by up to Tk 50 per litre.

According to allegations, some traders attempted to profit from the situation by pouring soybean oil out of bottles and selling it in bulk.

According to government officials, businesses reportedly stole advantage of continuous worldwide market volatility during the Russia-Ukraine conflict to raise the price of old stocks.