Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin has said that traders raised edible oil prices without notifying the government.
''They did not discuss the matter with the ministry.''
Businessmen have raised the price of edible oil in the market without obtaining approval from the ministry, increasing the price of bottled soybean oil by Tk 9 per litre.
Bashir Uddin said, "The government did not know anything about the increase in oil prices. We learned about it half an hour ago. The companies collectively did this (increasing the price of edible oil).''
The adviser said the ministry will sit with traders soon, and if they fail to justify the hike, the new prices will not be approved.
When asked how traders raised prices without government clearance, he added, ''They tried to increase prices in October as well, but we didn’t approve it — and the market didn’t follow the hike either. We will sit with them again.''
''Just a few days ago, through a tender, they offered us soybean oil at Tk 20 less per litre than the existing market rate. We purchased 50 lakh litres of soybean oil. I don’t know on what grounds they have now increased the price.''
TF
