Traders Propose Tk 14 Per Litre Soybean Oil Price Rise Before Ramadan, Ministry Takes No Decision

Traders have proposed raising the price of soybean oil by Tk 14 per litre ahead of the coming Ramadan, citing higher prices in the international market and increased transport costs. Importers, meanwhile, have demanded a duty waiver on date imports.

The proposals were placed at a meeting on Monday with Commerce Minister Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, held to review import preparations, supply problems and the price situation for essential goods ahead of Ramadan.

The commerce ministry, however, took no decision on raising edible oil prices. The ministry said the date duty waiver issue would be discussed with the National Board of Revenue (NBR), according to meeting sources.

Earlier, on September 2, the price of bottled soybean oil was raised by Tk 5 per litre to Tk 204. The prices of loose soybean oil and palm oil remained unchanged.

That day, former commerce secretary Md Ataur Rahman Khan told reporters that importers had demanded a price rise because of higher edible oil prices in the international market and increased transport costs. Although traders wanted a larger increase, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission had recommended Tk 10 per litre.

Asked whether prices would be raised again before Ramadan, he had said it would depend on the market situation at the time.

At Monday's meeting, importers said about 55 percent duty and tax currently has to be paid on date imports. They claimed import costs are rising further because of high assessed values and increased transport costs.

They also said instability in the Middle East has complicated goods transport, and bringing goods through alternative routes has raised transport and supply costs. They warned that if complications in opening letters of credit continue, supply could be disrupted further.

The importers demanded that duty on dates be set on the basis of actual quality and price instead of a fixed assessed value. In their view, assessing ordinary-quality dates at a value higher than their real price raises duty and overall import costs. They also demanded a more flexible tax system for fruit imports, arguing that high duties are pushing fruit prices beyond the reach of ordinary buyers.

The commerce minister called for a transparent and logical duty structure taking into account differences in the variety, quality and price of dates. He said dates of different qualities are imported into Bangladesh from about a dozen countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Algeria, and setting the same assessed value for all dates could create complications.

Although setting import duty is the NBR's responsibility, the meeting discussed the need for coordination among relevant government agencies. There was also discussion of quickly making effective the existing duty waiver facility on date imports. Officials said internal preparations in this regard have already been completed, and the authorities assured that necessary steps would be taken to resolve the problems raised by importers.