Shawdesh Desk:

Bottled soybean oil products have vanished from the market mysteriously despite a price hike of Tk 38 per litre last week.

The wholesale merchants claim that the shortage of bottled products has been created intentionally by a group of businesses to maximise profit.

Bangladesh Wholesale Edible Oil Traders’ Association President Haji Golam Mawla said the market would become normal within this week.

“The price hiked during the weekend. Many merchants couldn’t release products due to the bank holidays. We hope the supply of bottled soybean oil will return to normalcy within this week,” Mawla said.

The wholesale merchant claimed that a group of businesses created the shortage for making hefty profit.

Traders in Chattogram claimed the businesses did not get enough time to release products after the price hike.

Khatungonj Trade and Industries Association General Secretary Syed Sagir Ahmed said the government hiked the price considering the price hike in the international market.

“The shipments of soybean oil are continuing at the port. The traders did not get the chance to release the product after the price hike due to the Eid holidays. We hope the supply will stabilise within one or two days after the market opens,” Ahmed told the Daily Sun.

Mill owners announced a hike of as much as 32 percent in cooking oil prices on Thursday, but soybean oil stayed out of the markets for the last two days after the price hike. The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection (DNCRP) is scheduled to hold a meeting with district and divisional officers on Sunday in this regard.

“We will set a strategy on market drives on this issue (Soybean oil) tomorrow through a meeting with district and divisional officers,” AHM Shafiquzzaman, Director General of DNCRP, told the Daily Sun on Saturday.

Bottled soybean oil now costs Tk 198 a litre, up from Tk 160, in line with the prices set by the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association after consultation with the government.