Soybean oil, flour, onion get dearer in city markets

Soybean oil, flour and onion became dearer last week augmenting woes of consumers, especially the commoners who had already been hit hard by the price hike of other essentials during the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Soybean oil prices rose to Tk 153 per litre as refiners set a new price for the key cooking oil on May 27 with the government's consent.

The maximum retail price (MRP) of soybean oil was set at Tk 153 for one litre, Tk 728 for a five-litre jar, loose soybean oil Tk 129 and super palm oil Tk 106 a litre.

MRP of soybean oil was Tk 143-144 a litre a week back and Tk 139-141 two weeks back. Five litre jar of soybean oil was Tk 670-685 while loose oil was Tk 124-126 a litre before the fresh hike.

Palm oil prices, which were supposed to go down in the week as announced by the refiners earlier, remained almost static at Tk 110-116 a litre at the retails.

The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (BVORVMA) set the new price after a meeting with the commerce ministry on Thursday last.

The association attributed the latest cooking oil price hike to the rising import costs.

It said that global edible oil prices increased by 160 percent in the last one year when the local manufacturers raised it by 35 percent in the same period.

However, visiting different grocery shops in the capital, this correspondent noticed that soybean oil containers with new price tag were yet to be supplied to many city groceries where the commodity was selling at its previous rate.

Bangladesh imports 2.2 to 2.6 million tonnes of edible oils annually, including 0.7-0.8 million tonnes of soybean oil and 1.4-1.6 million tonnes of palm oil.

More than 95 percent of the local demand is met through imports.

Meanwhile, prices of both aata and maida (coarse and finer wheat flour), considered No 2 staple after rice in the country, have been raised by major millers.

MRP of one kilogram branded maida has been set at Tk 51 from Tk 48 earlier.

Price of two kg packed maida has been increased to Tk 98 from Tk 90-92 seven days back.

Branded aata price has been raised to Tk 41 a kg from Tk 38 a week ago.

Prices of loose maida have also been increased to Tk 40-42 a kg from Tk 36-38 earlier.

However, loose aata prices were unchanged at Tk 31-33 a kg in the week.

Director of City Group Biswajit Saha, whose company markets 'Teer' brand aata and maida, said millers have reviewed the price following a rise in import costs.

According to him wheat prices have been rising in international market for the last eight months.

Russian wheat prices rose to over $340 per tonne while North American (Canada and USA) wheat to $390 per tonne recently, he mentioned.

Global trade web-portal Index Mundi data showed that average global price of wheat crossed $300 a tonne in April 2021.

Kitchen staple onion became costlier by Tk 3.0-5.0 a kg in the week as both local and Indian varieties were selling at Tk 48-56 a kg at the retails on Saturday.

Imported onion from Turkey, Egypt and China were retailed at Tk 38-45 a kg on the day.

Onion price witnessed a second time hike in the last two and half weeks, traders said.

Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) secretary Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan said that the upward trend in prices of essentials like flour, edible oil and onion have further affected the commoners, who had already been struggling to get by amid a rising cost of living triggered by price hike of other commodities during the pandemic.

He said market monitoring should be stricter, apart from various steps taken by the government, including raising stock of the items and their subsidised sales during the pandemic, he said.