Buyers are not getting edible oil from popular brands by going to the market for holy Eid-ul-Fitr. Shoppers are being forced to buy mustard oil, tea, or any other product with a bottle of soybean oil at the stores where the oil is available.

Not only the supply deficit but also the market price of oil has gone up. The price of a 1-liter bottle of bottled soybean oil fixed by the government is 160 rupees but it is being sold at 180 rupees. And a 5-liter bottle is going to be bought for 60 rupees, the fixed price of which is 80 rupees. The price is even higher in the small shops in the neighborhood.

Open oil prices have risen the most. The state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) said on Thursday that the lowest price of soybean oil in the Dhaka market was Tk 164 per liter, up from Tk 29 a week ago. Similarly, palm super oil has gone up by Tk 20 to Tk 185 per liter.

There are two major reasons behind the edible oil crisis. One. During the holy month of Ramadan and Eid, the demand for edible oil increases. But this time the import has been less. Two. Traders are stockpiling soybean oil, fearing it will rise after Eid.

The big importers and refiners say that if the prices in the domestic market are not increased according to the prices in the world market, then the imports will decrease. So the government should focus on increasing the supply.

Mostafa Haider, director of TK Group, a leading edible oil importer, told Prothom Alo yesterday that the government should now give utmost importance to keeping the supply in order. The crisis of edible oil is going on in the world market now. It should be seen as a crisis. For this, the importers should be protected so that the supply can be maintained