Commerce adviser Sk Bashir Uddin on Tuesday stated that the government did not increase the prices of edible oil.
鈥楴o decision has been made to increase the price鈥�, he told reporters after inauguration of the five-day 20th National Furniture Fair 2025 at the capital鈥檚 International Convention City, Bashundhara.
The Ministry of Commerce is responsible for setting the edible oil prices, he said, clarifying that the oil price increases were solely decided by the ministry.
Earlier on Monday,聽the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association issued a press release stating that they would hike the prices of edible oils at different levels.
The millers鈥� association said that the new rates were fixed after consultations with the Ministry of Commerce to align with international market trends, according to the press release.
However, a commerce ministry official denied the approval of the price hike, saying that they had not made a final decision regarding the price of oil.
The association set聽the price of one-litre bottle of soya bean oil at Tk 195, while that of five-litre bottle at Tk 945, unpackaged soya bean oil at Tk 177 a litre and unpackaged palm oil at Tk 163 a litre.
Commerce secretary Mahbubur Rahman told 抖阴精品 on Tuesday that the association could declare its prices, but could not issue any press release regarding this.
鈥楶rice hikes need approval of the ministry. We are working on it and a decision regarding the edible oil price hike may come soon,鈥� he added.
He said that according to data collected from the Bangladesh Bank, it was observed that cost of opening letters of credit had been hiked as prices of edible oils surged on global markets.
鈥楾he refiners said that if the government would not adjust the prices, they could not import raw materials, which might impact the market during the upcoming Ramadan,鈥� he added, saying that a price that could protect the interests of both consumers and traders might be fixed within this week.
Meanwhile, Nurul Islam Mollah, general secretary of the refiners鈥� association, said that at Monday鈥檚 meeting, government officials, including the commerce ministry secretary, officials from the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, and other officials were present.
鈥楢t this meeting, the decision on hiking the soya bean oil price was taken,鈥� he said.
Earlier, on September 22, the government approved a minimal increase of Tk 1 per litre for edible oils, by rejecting industry demands for a Tk 10 hike amid soaring global commodity prices.
