Staff Correspondent

There has been a major shortage in the supply of soybean oil in the market. This is because the country’s edible oil refining companies have stopped selling bottled soybean oil to dealers for a week.

This has caused consumers significant inconvenience.

To increase the supply of edible oil, the trade advisor held a meeting with the traders who refine the edible oil on Thursday.

In the meeting, it was decided to reduce the existing value added tax (VAT) rate on import of edible oil from 10 per cent to 5 per cent.

After that, the companies agreed to increase the supply of bottled soybean oil in the market.

Yesterday, this reporter visited Sheorapara, Mohammadpur Agricultural Market, Kathal Bagan and New Market kitchen market in the capital. Bottled soybeans were low in most stores in the markets.

Masudur Rahman, a trader at Kathalbagan market, said that no soybean oil has arrived in the shop for five days. The dealers are not able to tell when the oil will arrive.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the retail price of open soybean oil per litre in the market is currently Tk 170 to Tk 172. And the price of palm oil per litre is Tk 162-163. The price of one litre of bottled soybean oil in the market is now Tk 165-167.

Over the past month, open soybean oil prices have increased by 11 per cent and palm oil prices by 11.5 per cent.

The price of edible oil in the international market has increased and the price of the product has also increased in the country.