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A meeting with Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin concluded on Sunday (April 6, 2025) without any decision on a proposed increase in soybean oil prices. According to sources from the Ministry of Commerce, another meeting with edible oil refinery owners may take place on Tuesday.
The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers Association has proposed an increase of Tk18 per litre in soybean oil prices.
The proposal was submitted in writing to the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission on March 27. Although a meeting was held on Sunday at the Ministry of Commerce to discuss the issue, no decision was made.
The meeting at the Ministry of Commerce was attended by Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin, Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission Chairman Dr Moinul Khan, Additional Secretary of the Ministry’s Import and Internal Trade (IIT) Division Abdur Razzak, a senior representative from the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and owners of edible oil refineries.
Razzak said: “We couldn’t reach a decision in today’s (Sunday) meeting. However, another meeting will be held within the next couple of days.”
Sources from the meeting stated that the proposed Tk18 price hike is due to the expiration of the import duty waiver. Previously, to keep prices affordable, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission recommended extending the import duty waiver until June 30.
A letter regarding this was sent to the chairman of the NBR. However, the NBR has yet to make a decision on whether the waiver will continue.
Refinery owners noted that if the duty waiver is extended, there would be no need to raise prices.
Taslim Shahriar, deputy general manager of Meghna Group of Industries (MGI), who was present at the meeting said: “If the duty waiver is withdrawn, companies will incur losses, as soybean oil prices are high in the international market.
“Moreover, this upward trend in prices is expected to continue for several more months. Therefore, increasing the oil price is necessary. But no decision was made in today’s (Sunday) meeting.”
Source: Online/OFA
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