The Ministry of Commerce has approved a Tk 5 a litre rise in the price of bottled soybean oil, following traders' applications for a price adjustment.

The traders had earlier asked the government for a rise of Tk 10.

Edible oil traders met in the office of Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir at the ministry on Wednesday, 2 September, where the ministry allowed the Tk 5 a litre adjustment.

With the rise, a litre of soybean oil will now cost Tk 204 in the market, up from Tk 199.

At an emergency press conference in the ministry's meeting room after the rise, Commerce Secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan said edible oil prices had risen on the international market and transport costs had also gone up. Importers had demanded a price rise on these grounds and wanted a bigger increase, he said. "We have adjusted it."

The commerce secretary said there was no shortage of edible oil in the market at present, and the government decided on the adjustment after considering the situation.

Asked whether edible oil prices would be raised again before Ramadan, he said: "That will depend on market conditions at the time."

Asked whether the rise in edible oil prices, coming after the approval of a new pay structure and a recent rise in sugar prices, would affect inflation, he said: "There is a risk of some effect. But the government is taking various steps to control inflation."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.