The government has raised the prices of both the soya bean and palm oil by Tk 8 a litre as per the demand from the businesses to align price with international market rates.

After increasing the price of edible oil, the retail price of packaged soybean oil has been set at Tk 175 a litre, up from Tk 167 a litre.

Commerce adviser Sk Bashir Uddin announced the new prices for edible oil following a meeting with edible oil traders at Bangladesh Secretariat on Monday.

The revised prices for the edible oil would come into effect on Tuesday.

According to the decision, the price of unpackaged soybean oil has been increased to Tk 157 a litre from Tk 149 a litre, while the price of palm oil will also rise from Tk 149 to Tk 157 a liter.

The price of a 5-litre bottle of soybean oil has been set at Tk 852, up from Tk 818.

During the announcement of new prices of edible oil, commerce adviser told reporters that industry stakeholders had assured they would arrange for supply starting today.

‘We have analyzed everything realistically and set the price accordingly. By setting the price based on a realistic approach, we hope to put an end to speculation and assumptions from today,’ he said.

Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and vanaspati Manufacturers Association in a press release said that due to the recent increase in the price of edible oil in the international market, the price of edible oil has been adjusted in the local market following consultations with the commerce ministry.

Kitchen markets in Dhaka were gripped by an edible oil crisis, with chaotic price fluctuations and supply inconsistencies over the past two weeks.

Retailers said that suppliers had significantly reduced the supply of edible oil, and there was a lack of pricing consistency at all levels, including wholesale and retail.

Over the past two months, vegetable oil refiners repeatedly sent letters to the Trade and Tariff Commission requesting an upward revision of edible oil prices, citing increases in the prices of both soybean and palm oil on the international market.

In the letters, refiners also mentioned that traders were proceeding cautiously with opening letters of credit for importing edible oil due to the government’s lack of a decision on price adjustments in the local market.