AN UNAPPROVED increase in the price of soya bean oil, selling for Tk 197 a litre, up by Tk 9, on the market on December 2, is gravely worrying in that it undermines government authority, harms consumer rights and creates a form of impunity that encourages further such increases in future. The trade body of oil refiners and manufacturers has increased the soya bean oil price, with a five-litre bottle selling for Tk 956 against the earlier price of Tk 922. The commerce adviser to the interim government on December 3 said that the traders had increased the price without ministerial approval, noting that the ministry would take action in this regard. But traders claim that they increased the price in accordance with due procedure, which includes seeking ministerial approval in a letter sent on November 10. The traders say that they had waited for a reply and the ministry did not reply in 15 days. They then increased the price assuming that the government would have responded if the proposal for the price increase had been illogical. The assumption by the traders on the price increase is grossly undermining.
The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers’ Association on October 13 also tried to increase prices of edible oils by Tk 5–6 a litre by issuing a press release, noting that it was an alignment with prices on the international market. The commerce ministry denied giving any approval, noting that it had not made a final decision on the price increase. The commerce adviser on December 3 also said that the government had bought five million litres of soya bean oil through a tender process in which the traders offered a price Tk 20 below the market price, nullifying the traders’ grounds for seeking an increase in price. The government on September 22 increased the price of edible oils by Tk 1 a litre against the refiners’ demand for a Tk 10 increase. The government also increased the price of edible oil on April 22 by up to Tk 14 a litre. Soya bean oil prices also went up by Tk 5 a litre in the middle of January. In the case of the October attempts by traders to increase prices, the government sounded a warning, but it did not take any action. The latest incident appears to have happened riding on the indolence of the government at that time.
Traders keep arm-twisting the government now, as they did during the Awami League government that fell on August 5, 2024. It is time that the government acts stringently. Such moves by the traders would, otherwise, keep undermining government authority, harming consumer interests and creating a form of impunity.
