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After a brief respite from bearing the brunt of the price spiral of daily essentials, the government on Tuesday adjusted the price of bottled soybean oil to Tk 189 per litre, up from its previous price of Tk 175.
At the same time, per litre of unbolted soybean oil will be sold at Tk 169 and palm oil at Tk 189 per litre respectively.
Commerce Adviser SK Bashiruddin announced the new prices after a meeting on the review of edible oil import, supply and related issues held at his secretariat office in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The adviser said the new price of a five-litre bottle of soybean oil has been fixed at Tk 922 which was earlier Tk 852.
The last hike in the price of bottled soybean oil was made on December 9.
The new prices were fixed following the upward rate in the international market, he said adding that his government will try to bring the prices down in the coming days.
Earlier, on 27 March, the association of edible oil refiners wrote to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission, seeking a Tk 18 hike per litre in bottled soybean oil and Tk 13 in loose soybean and palm oil.
In the letter, the refiners said the exemption on import duties and taxes expired on March 31 which they cited as the reason for the proposed hike.
Despite holding meetings with all stakeholders last week, the government could not reach a decision on the matter until Tuesday.
