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Prices of cooking oil to fall soon: official

Star Business Report
The commerce ministry yesterday said there was no rationale behind the recent price spiral of cooking oil, and signalled that prices would come down soon.
“Supply and stocks remain normal. There is no logic behind the price spiral," Commerce Secretary Mahbub Ahmed told The Daily Star after a meeting with cooking oil refiners at the ministry.
The meeting was held two weeks after the retail prices of unpackaged soybean and super palm oil shot up due to reduced supply.
Bottled or packaged cooking oil prices, however, remain unchanged.
Since January 11, prices of loose soybean oil rose 11 percent, orTk 12, to Tk 122-124 a litre in the city markets, from Tk 110-112, according to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB).
Super palm oil increased 7 percent, or Tk 5.5, to Tk80-82 a litre.
Ahmed, referring to the meeting with refiners, said prices increased in some areas because of supply disruption.
"There was a problem with transportation due to the fog," said the secretary, adding that palm oil also thickened due to the recent cold spell.
"Except for this temporary problem, stock and supply are good," he said, citing that the ministry collected crude cooking oil import data from Chittagong Customs.
On January 20, stock of crude cooking oil stood at 95,821 tonnes at the bonded warehouse of Chittagong Customs, Bangladesh Tariff Commission (BTC) said in a report sent to the commerce ministry earlier.
But the volume of crude palm oil delivery taken by refiners was lower in December than in any other month, BTC said. "As a result, overall supply of cooking oil declined in the market. It may have impacted the market prices," it said.
Refiners, however, did not increase the prices of cooking oil at their mill gate, it said.
Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of Meghna Group of Industries, said the company faced delays in receiving its shipment of imported crude soybeans and palm at the port.
Kamal, also the vice-president of the association of refiners, however, did not give any reason for the reduced withdrawal of palm oil from bonded warehouse.
He said the prices of loose soybean oil rose because of its increased demand in the cold weather.
Traders used to pass off a mixture of palm oil and soybean oil as pure soybean cooking oil, but that has been thwarted by the cold weather as the palm oil thickens fast, he said.
"The dense fog also caused a disruption in the