Prices of cooking oil to come down in 2-3 months

The prices of cooking oil fell on the world market in recent months, but consumers in Bangladesh are yet to reap any benefits from it.
Instead of a cutback, refiners have increased the prices of packaged soybean oil on the grounds that they had bought the consignment at a higher price.
Refiners raised the price of a five-litre container to Tk 670 from Tk 660 a week ago.
"We have increased prices in line with government-prescribed method to determine prices," said Shoeb Md Asaduzzaman, head of sales and marketing of Bangladesh Edible Oil Ltd (BEOL), which sells soybean oil under the 'Rupchada' brand name.
The government instructed the refiners to set prices based on the price quoted on receiving the shipment from abroad.
“The soybean oil stock the company is selling currently was bought in April when the prices of cooking oil were higher than the current market price,” he said.
“But consumers can expect lower prices, in line with the price of soyabean oil on the world market, in two-three months' time,” said Assaduzzaman.
According to Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), the prices of packaged soybean oil rose to Tk 132-Tk 135 per litre this week, from Tk 130-Tk 135 a week ago.
On the other hand, the prices of loose palm oil and loose soybean oil declined in the past one month, TCB data shows.
Each litre of loose palm oil fell by 7.73 percent to Tk 95-Tk 96 now from Tk 102-Tk 105 a month ago in the face of reduced prices in the wholesale market that tracks global prices of commodities.
The prices of palm oil and soybean oil fell 7 percent to $1,218 each tonne in May from $1,310 a month ago. The prices of palm oil dropped 8 percent to $1,085 in May from $1,181 in April, according to Commodity Price Data prepared by World Bank.
"It is an impact of the falling prices of commodities on the world market," said Mohammad Ali Bhutto, general secretary of Bangladesh Edible Oil Wholesalers Association, about the decline in the prices of loose cooking oil.
He, however, said the prices have risen on the wholesale market slightly this week spurred by reduced supplies from mills and a rebound in prices on the international market.