Bottled soybean oil crisis strikes again

There was a crisis in the supply of bottled soybean oil in the market two weeks ago. Following that, the government reduced the value added tax (VAT) for edible oil import which increased the supply to some extent as a result. However, the supply of bottled soybean oil has been declining over the last three to four days.

Meanwhile, the price of potatoes has risen by Tk 5 per kg as compared to last week. However, prices of coarse rice, unpackaged soybean oil and palm oil, onion and broiler chicken have declined.

This information came up in conversation with traders and buyers at several markets in the capital, including Shewrapara, Mohammadpur Krishi Market, Nakhalpara Samiti Bazar and Mohakhali kitchen market.

The retailers say no branded soybean oil except one or two brands is available in the market. And the brands of oil that are available are not enough compared to the demand. In particular, there is almost no supply of one or two-litre bottles of soybean oil. However, the prices of unpackaged and palm oil have decreased in the open market.

According to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the prices of open soybean oil and palm oil have increased by Tk 4-5 and Tk 3-4 per litre respectively as compared to the last week. At the moment, unpackaged soybean oil is being sold at Tk 165-168 per litre and unpackaged palm oil is being sold at Tk 157-159 per litre.

The crisis of bottled soybean oil began some two weeks ago. However, the supply increased following the government initiative to reduce VAT for edible oil import from 10 per cent to5 per cent. The supply has declined again over the past few days. There has been no statement so far from edible oil refinery companies of the country.

Suraiya Akter, a homemaker, came to the kitchen market in the capital’s Shewrapara to buy soybean oil. However, there was no bottled soybean oil in the market.

Suraiya Akter told Prothom Alo, “I am running out of soybean oil. There was no bottled soybean oil in the market yesterday either.”

The farmers delayed growing potato seeds this year due to the heavy rains and floods during the monsoon. As a result, there have been no supplies of local new potatoes in the market as yet. At the same time, the stock of potatoes stored in cold storages is also nearing its end. Taking advantage of the situation, the cold-storage-level-traders have been selling potatoes at additional prices. It has created a negative impact on the retail market.

The price of the potatoes from the previous season has increased by Tk 5 from Tk 70-75 to Tk 75-80 this week. Overall, the prices of potatoes have increased by Tk 10-25 per kg in the last one month. The potatoes which are available in the markets were mostly supplied from India. These potatoes are being sold at a price of Tk 90-120 now.