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Despite the announcement of price hike, the crisis of edible
oil in the markets of Dhaka and Chittagong, the two main cities of the country,
has not abated. The situation has now reached such a stage that buyers are not
getting soybean oil even with high prices. Retailers expect the edible oil
market to take a few more days to normalize.
Last Friday (May 6, 2022) 34 grocery stores in seven areas of the capital including Mohammadpur, Khilgaon, Karwan Bazar, Kathalbagan were visited, soybean oil is being sold in only six shops. The situation is almost the same in Chittagong. Soybean oil was found in only 2 out of 13 shops in five areas including Gate No. 2, Bahaddarhat and Bibirhat. Shopkeepers say the company's distributors are not supplying oil.
Md. Feroze, a resident of East Tejturi Bazar of the capital, came to Karwan Bazar yesterday afternoon to buy soybean oil. After visiting eight or ten shops, he found nothing and returned home. In the evening he came back to the Karwan Bazar. The situation is the same again. At one point, he expressed his displeasure, saying, "I don't think there are any shops left in the market. There is no oil anywhere. In two or three shops, five liters of sunflower oil is asking for eleven hundred Taka. I maintain my family by doing small business. Is it possible for us to buy oil with that much money? '
The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vegetable Manufacturers Association has fixed the new price of soybean oil after a meeting with the Commerce Ministry on Thursday. According to the newly fixed price, the price of bottled soybean oil has increased by Tk 38 to Tk 198 per liter.
Officials at two of the country's largest edible oil suppliers say the new soybean oil prices will take effect on Saturday (May 7, 2022). At the same time the supply in the market will also increase. They are hopeful that the current oil crisis in the retail market will be resolved in three or four days.
Meanwhile, shopkeepers in Karwan Bazar said that one or two oil suppliers had contacted them. They will supply soybean oil from Saturday. However, no oil supplying company contacted 20 shopkeepers at Kanthalbagan, Mohammadpur Town Hall, Mohammadpur Salimullah Road and Sepahibagh in Khilgaon till last evening. The shopkeepers said that those who supply oil in the retail market, first they come and take the order. Since no one has yet come to take orders from any company, they think it will take a few more days for the oil market to return to normal.
Md. Selim Raihan, executive director of the South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM), a private research institute, said the government should try to bring down the price of soybean oil to a tolerable level with further concessions on tariffs and taxes. He said there was a big crisis in the global market for edible oil. Some countries have stopped exporting. Prices are rising in the international market. The effect of which is falling on the country as well. Traders also have a responsibility in such situations. The crisis will only get worse if they save money. The government should keep in touch with the traders and hold them accountable at all times.
|Source: Online/SZK
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