Government Rejects Tk.9 Edible Oil Price Hike by Refiners

The Commerce Ministry and edible oil millers failed to reach an agreement on adjusting the price of cooking oil following the millers' recent unilateral decision to raise the price by Tk.9 per litre.

The ministry formally rejected this Tk.9 increase, while the companies remained firm on their decision, citing market realities. The two parties, including top executives from City Group, TK Group, and Meghna Group of Industries, along with government officials, met today but could not agree on a price adjustment. Consequently, they scheduled a follow-up meeting for Sunday to finalize any potential price changes.

Historically, price adjustments are requested by the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association, and the ministry evaluates the proposals after analysis by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission. The association has been pushing for a hike for several months due to rising international prices.

In September, the association requested a Tk.10 per litre increase. The ministry approved only Tk.1 after the commission's analysis, which the association rejected, claiming the analysis supported a Tk.3-4 hike.

On 10 November, the association requested another revision and set new, unapproved retail prices effective 24 November, including bottled soybean oil at Tk.199 per litre (a Tk.9 increase over recent days).

The Commerce Adviser confirmed that the government had not been informed of the recent Tk.9 price hike and that it lacks any legal basis. The ministry will address this unapproved increase at the upcoming meeting.