Soybean oil prices are rising again and again in the country's market. After raising the price of bottled soybean from Tk. 13 to 22 per liter in the last four months, the companies say the price is likely to rise further. Because, the international market is booming.
Last August, 5 liters of oil could be bought for 505 to 515 Tk. Now the market price is 570 to 625 Tk. This is not the end, the Association of Marketing Companies, Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vegetable Manufacturers Association, has written to the Commerce Ministry on November 15 stating that the price of soybean oil will be fixed at Tk 130 per liter. Now the price of 1 liter of soybean oil in the market is 115 to 125 Tk. According to the law, if the price of oil is to be increased, it has to be informed 15 days in advance.
According to Commerce Ministry sources, a letter was sent to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) on Thursday by the ministry to verify whether the proposed oil price was reasonable. Earlier, the Commerce Ministry had held several meetings with the mill owners. With the three levels of value added tax (VAT) on oil imports, companies say, this is putting more pressure on VAT as oil import prices rise. From the budget of 2019-20 financial year, VAT on edible oil at the rate of 15 percent has been imposed on three levels.
According to the World Bank's December 2 Commodity Market Situation Report, the price of soybean oil in April-June was USD 707 per tonne, up from 974 in November. Traders say several countries, including China, have increased edible oil imports. On the other hand, exports from countries like Brazil and Argentina have declined. Because of this, the importing countries are in trouble.
Source: Online/SZK
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