Traders hike edible oil prices ‘without govt approval’, says Commerce Adviser

Traders have raised edible oil prices without the government’s knowledge, the commerce adviser has said.

There is no legal basis for this, Sheikh Bashir Uddin told reporters at the Secretariat on Wednesday.

He said he had learned of the hike only an hour earlier and that the ministry would act on it.

Earlier on Friday, the adviser said, the advisory committee on purchases approved buying 15 million litres of edible oil for the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh. Of this, 5 million litres of soybean oil and 10 million litres of rice bran oil will be purchased.

The adviser said the government bought edible oils yesterday, but today those oils are selling for Tk 20 more per litre than they were then.

There is no justification for this, he added.

Without prior notice, importers and marketers have raised soybean oil prices, this time by Tk 9 per litre.

Asked how businesses had become so powerful that they could raise prices while bypassing the government, he said, “Ask them about this.

“We have discussed it and are taking steps. It is not a matter of going to the market and engaging in a sword fight.”

Bashir Uddin also said that if there is any legal basis for raising edible oil prices, it will be discussed. The government wants to streamline the supply system, not disrupt it anyway.

Edible oil traders say there is no need to seek permission from the ministry or the Tariff Commission to raise prices.

Asked about this, the adviser said, “That is their statement. We do not agree with them on it.”