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Edible oil market volatile for lack of monitoring

Shaheen Mollah
The country's edible oil market has been destabilised for a long time now, causing immense sufferings to consumers, since there is no official regulation controlling prices of the essential commodity.
Although according to a decision taken by a meeting between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners' and Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association, prices of edible oil were supposed to be rescheduled every 15 days on an ad hoc basis until further notice, the measure has not been followed through
since the first meeting.
In the meantime most retailers and wholesalers of edible oil, middlemen, and oil refiners are hiking up the prices according to their whims, while blaming the international market for it.
Oil traders of Moulvibazar wholesale market in the capital alleged that a section of unscrupulous refiners and middlemen operating between the refiners and wholesalers, popularly known as 'DO traders', are bagging crores of taka in the name of an international price hike of edible oil.
Oil traders said it takes at least 15 to 30 days for imported oil to
reach the domestic market since its departure from the point of origin, and the most recent international price hike of edible oil happened last week.
But prices on the domestic market shot up immediately after the news of international price hike reached the wholesale oil markets of the capital and port city Chittagong, although the oil bought for hiked prices has yet to reach the country.
Although the middlemen between the refiners and the wholesalers are quick to raise oil prices as soon as they get news of
an international price hike, they do not show similar agility when prices dip on the international market, alleged oil wholesalers of Moulvibazar adding that the middlemen often refuse to lower the prices of their oil stock or reduce the prices only negligibly, claiming that they had bought the stock for higher prices.
Although in the meeting between oil wholesalers and refiners on one side and BDR on the other on January 13 and 19 in the headquarters of the border security force, which is currently being used by the caretaker government as a price curbing force, it was decided that no person will be allowed to hoard edible oil for more than 15 days, the middlemen are however buying off large amounts of oil from the refiners without any oversight and hoarding them nonetheless, creating the current artificial' price hike on /he domestic market, claimed the wholesalers.
A cartel of middlemen in collusion with some unscrupulous oil refiners are purchasing large quantities of oil from the latter with advance payment, alleged the wholesalers adding that the middlemen are not even stopping at that, as they are also purchasing extra demand orders (DOs) through their brokers to increase their hoarded stock of oil, creating an artificial crisis of oil supply.
There is no shortage of oil on the market if buyers are willing to pay hiked up prices, lamented the wholesalers. The country has enough reserve of edible oil to last it for about a month, they added saying there is no legitimate reason for the current price hike of edible oil in the country since the-batch of imported oil bought for higher prices has yet to reach the market.
If legal actions are taken against the unscrupulous middlemen and refiners, prices of edible oil can be kept stable, they suggested.
When asked, MA Rouf Chowdhury, president of Bangladesh Edible Oil Refinery Owners' Association, however denied the allegations.
He claimed that it does not take 15 to 30 days for imported oil to reach the country, rather it takes only a few days. He also said prices of edible oil went up recently because they had to import it for higher prices.
The batch of edible oil that reached Chittagong port last week had been bought for a higher price, he added.
Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners' and Vanaspati Manufactures' Association sent a list of soybean and palm oil prices to the media outlets on January 21, which said according to the decisions of the meeting between the association and BDR. prices of the oils were to stay stable in line with the list till February 6. The release
was signed by Nurul Islam Mollah, secretary of the association.
In a telephone conversation an association official told The Daily Star soon after the release had been sent that they were scheduled to sit with BDR again after February 6 for rescheduling the prices.
The prices were stable between January 22 and February 6 due to the oversight, the wholesalers said.
On the list, the price of soybean oil was Tk 3,400 a maund and Tk 91.10 a kg for the 15-day period, which shot up by Tk 14 a kg since February?.
Soybean oil was selling for Tk 107 to Tk 108 a kg on wholesale markets in the capital yesterday, the price of which had been listed Tk 91.10 a kg in the association news release.
Super palm oil was selling forTk 99 toTk 100 a kg yesterday, the price of which had been listed Tk 87.08 a kg in the release.
Visiting different markets, The Daily Star yesterday found that oil traders were selling 900 millilitre (ml) bottles of soybean oil for Tk 105 to Tk 110, although the labels were sporting price tags ofTk 100.
An oil trader of Karwan Bazar alleged that he purchased bottles of 900ml soybean oil for Tk 102 a bottle on February 18 from a distributor, although the labels on the bottles showed price tagsofTk 100.
"Can you please tell me what should I sell it for? Shoppers often get mad at me as the price on the bottle isTk 100," he lamented.
When asked about the dilemma of the retailers. Amir Hossain, the distributor, denied the allegation saying, they distributed soybean oil for less than the price on the tags of the bottles. "The retailer might have shown you an old bottle," he said adding, the price of soybean oil went up since February 18.
The price of an eight litre can of soybean oil was priced at Tk 842 on the label sporting itself as a value pack', whereas a five-litre can of the same company was labelled with a price ofTk 514, duping shoppers in paying more per litre tor the 'value pack'. Labels on both the cans were pasted around the same time, which was printed on them too.
Moreover, The Daily Star found that some unscrupulous retailers were selling super palm oil claiming them as soybean oil, which was corroborated by the wholesalers.