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Chattogram Mayor Sahadat Hossain has taken stock of the acute cooking oil crisis plaguing consumers after failing to find any bottles of the kitchen staple during an inspection of Khatunganj, the port city's main wholesale market.
Sahadat was accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Farida Khanom during Monday's inspection.
Authorities have scheduled a meeting for Tuesday with edible oil importers, producers and wholesalers to address the issue. They warned that legal action would be taken if oil prices were not reduced after the meeting.
Speaking to reporters during the inspection, Mayor Sahadat said, “For several days, we’ve received complaints from the public that edible oil has disappeared from the market and the oil that is available is being sold for over Tk 180 to 200. That’s why we’re here today. There’s no edible oil to be found anywhere.”
“The little we’ve seen has already been sent for lab testing. We’re working with district administration magistrates to verify if these are truly edible oils,” he added.
He also expressed concern about the prices of essentials during Ramadan, saying, “We believe that during Ramadan, essential goods should be sold at reasonable prices. People are struggling, and they should be able to buy food at affordable prices to break their fasts and have Sehri. Unfortunately, this is not happening. Around the world, especially in Muslim countries, subsidies are provided to sell goods at lower prices, but in Bangladesh, it seems businesspeople take advantage of Ramadan to make as much money as possible. This is why edible oil is disappearing from the market, as it’s being hoarded in various places.”
Chattogram has been experiencing a shortage of bottled soybean oil for almost a month, with the situation worsening in the week leading up to Ramadan.
When asked what actions would be taken to restore the edible oil supply, Mayor Sahadat said, “We’ve called all the traders to the Circuit House tomorrow. We’ll meet with oil producers and importers to understand why they raised prices. We’re asking them to lower the prices. If they don’t, we’ll have no choice but to take legal action. We want the oil to be released into the market immediately, and the prices to come down.”
“I came here today to speak directly to the traders, but we couldn’t find any oil. It’s been hidden and our intelligence knows where it’s stored,” the mayor added.
“We want to make it clear that we know where the oil is. If we uncover it, the law will take its course.”
DC Farida also expressed concern, saying, “We are on high alert. There’s a severe shortage of edible oil, and sugar is also in short supply. We’ve received complaints that Tiki Group is not distributing oil, and we plan to meet with them.”
“We’ll be meeting with wholesale dealers of edible oil tomorrow to resolve this issue. If, after the meeting, the prices are still unreasonable, we’ll take legal action.”
She also highlighted the joint efforts of the Chattogram City Corporation and district administration to prevent middlemen from manipulating the market and increasing the prices of essential goods.
“We’ve divided the city and district into 21 zones,” said Farida.
“During Ramadan, we will conduct 400 raids. To ensure that essential goods remain affordable, from tomorrow, beef will be sold for Tk 680 per kg, eggs for Tk 115 per dozen, and sugar will be available at open markets.”