Edible oil prices have risen for a third time in two months, making it even more difficult for low-income groups to afford the essential cooking ingredient amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The retail price of edible oil has been raised by Tk 5 per litre, said Md Shafiul Ather Taslim, director for finance and operations at TK Group, a leading importer and processor of essential goods.
As such, local importers and processors hiked the retail price of branded soybean oil to Tk 144 from Tk 139 per litre while the cost of a five-litre bottle was set at Tk 685, up from Tk 660 not long ago.
Soaring commodity prices hit people hard
3rd April, 2021 04:45:36
People, especially those with low, middle and fixed incomes, are suffering a lot as prices of essential commodities continued to soar across the country, including the capital, ahead of Ramadan.
Apart from the daily essentials, the demand for certain commodities like brinjal, sugar, meat and different kinds of vegetables has gone up ahead of the fasting month.
Taking the opportunity, some unscrupulous traders have hiked the prices of most of the essentials.
Lack of market monitoring and surveillance by the government against the wholesale market manipulators is also responsible for the price hike, experts said.
Govt to tighten grip on commodity market
Sohel Hossain Patwary
8th February, 2021 11:30:37
The government is tightening its grip on the commodity market by introducing a new price-fixing method.
As part of the efforts, the government has formed a nine-member committee to set up a new price-fixing method for 17 commodities, declared as essential commodities.
This move aims to allow the government to have more authority in fixing the prices based on the international or base prices of the widely consumed items.
A total of 17 food items have been declared as essential commodities. These include onion, garlic, lentils, chickpeas, dried chilies, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, seeds of coriander, seeds of cumin, ginger, turmeric, bay leaves, edible soybean oil, edible palm oil, sugar and edible salt.
LPG prices rise as global markets heat up in winter
Each cylinder now costlier by Tk 100
The retail price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) went up 10 per cent in the domestic market in January after demand rose in Western countries because of winter, pushing up the rate in the international markets.
The price of the fuel in the global markets reached $550 per tonne in December, an increase of 17 per cent from $470 in November. The hike caused the price to go up in Bangladesh from January 1.
Now, a 12kg LPG cylinder is being sold in the retail market at Tk 980 to Tk 1,050, depending on companies, up Tk 100 from ten days ago.