TDS Desk:

The price of edible oil is on the decline in the international market. Owners of local edible oil refineries have also told the government that imports are in better shape this year.

Still, there is a crisis of bottled edible oil, though they don’t know why. Meanwhile, it is also true that the refinery owners are selling edible oil on the condition of buying other products alongside.

This information was revealed during a meeting at the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) office Sunday on reviewing the supply situation of edible oil.

The issue was discussed in the meeting. Though some vague decisions were taken, there has been no proper solution. So, the crisis regarding edible oil remains.

Additional secretary at the ministry of commerce, Abdur Rahim Khan was the invited guest of the meeting, chaired by BTCC chairman Mainul Khan. Representatives from the country’s top edible oil producing companies had joined the meeting.

Following the meeting, BTTC said in a press release that there is no shortage of edible oil in the market. What actually happened is an artificial crisis, caused by the lack of authentic information.

According to customs data, the import of edible oil between December 2024 and January 2025 has been increased by about 35 per cent. Letters of credit (LC) have also increased at the same rate. Not only that, the price of this item is also stable now in the global market.

It was decided in the meeting that the agencies responsible for market monitoring on all levels of edible oil production and marketing, will take necessary measures. However, the ‘necessary measures’ were not specified.

The information that some people are marketing edible oil on the condition of buying other products alongside also came up during the meeting.

A press release stated that such conditional sale or marketing at any other level including production level is contradictory to the existing law. If any such complaint is proven to be true, legal action will be taken.

While speaking to consumers it was found that the crisis of edible oil has been going on for a long time. However, it does not get detected in market monitoring. Even if it is does it gets buried.

Proof of this can be found just by visiting the market in disguise or in the guise of a buyer. Those who are doing this are remaining out of the reach of law, due to the weakness in government’s market monitoring system.

A new issue also came up in the meeting and that is the smuggling or informal trade of the edible oil. Traders are concerned about informal trade as the price is higher in the neighboring country.

The district administrations and concerned organistions in the bordering districts have been asked to investigate whether informal trade is happening and to take legal measures of prevention.

It was also stated during the meeting that the edible oil producing companies themselves will monitor whether the consumers are able to buy the edible oil supplied to their distributors at the fixed price or not.

WHAT REFINERS SAY

BTTC stated, City Group representative (adviser) Amitava Chakraborty mentioned in the meeting that they had supplied a total of 50,700 tonnes of edible oil with 22,242 tonnes of bottled oil in January. Earlier, they supplied 14,262 tonnes of bottled edible oil in December.

Meanwhile, Meghna Group representative GM Taslim Shahriar said that they supplied a total of 47,668 tonnes of edible oil in January. Out of that 15,000 tonnes were bottled. The previous month, they supplied a total of 25,000 tonnes with 12,000 tonness bottled edible oil.

TK Group director Shafiul Atahar Taslim said that they supplied 11,810 tonnes of bottled soybean oil in January, while the supply was 9,500 tonnes during the same period last year.

Other producers also said that they supplied more oil recently compared to previous months. Traders said that marking Ramadan, ships carrying about 150,000 tonnes of edible oil are waiting to dock at the Chittagong port. This oil will also be added to the supply chain soon.

Traders also said that some people on the filed level may have stockpiled it. Meanwhile, some may have cut the bottles open to turn it into lose oil in the hope of making extra profit.

According to BTTC data, the annual demand for edible oil in the country is 2.3 to 2.4 million (23 to 24 lakh) tonnes. However, the demand sores by 1.8 million to 3 million (18 to 30 lakh) tonnes during the Ramadan.