People reap benefits of tax cut on edible oil: Tipu Munshi

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi has said that the people of the country have started reaping the benefits of tax and VAT withdrawal on the imported edible oil.

“The vigil over the kitchen market has been intensified to keep the supply and price of edible oil normal. Efforts are being made to increase the supply of goods to keep the prices normal. The country has adequate stocks of edible oil. The prices of other products are stable. There is no shortage of products in the market,” he said.

The minister was responding to a reporter after attending the first meeting of the ‘Task Force Committee on Review of Commodity Prices and Market Situation’ at the commerce ministry on Monday afternoon.

Tipu said his ministry along with the Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection is working to keep the supply chain in order.

A bottle of one-litre soybean oil is selling at Tk 162 from the previous Tk 168 at the retail market. And, the same oil is selling at Tk 157 at the wholesale market, the minister said.

The minister claimed that the government does not have a big problem relating to soybean oil price.

“We don’t have a big problem. We have 90,000 tonnes of oil reserves. We are trying to identify if anyone is trying to take advantage of this. Our various agencies are monitoring the market. We talked to the Home Minister a while ago. He wanted to know if there were any obstacles in the transporting of goods,” Tipu said.

He, however, said the oil prices match with the prices in Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Cut in ad valorem taxes have contributed to lower the prices of soybean oil, Tipu explained.

“The price of lentils is fine. The price of onions has gone up so much that TCB is now running away from people for not being able to sell enough onions. Yesterday, I bought onions at Tk 28 per kg,” he said.

The commerce minister said, “It is good to know that the price of oil which has been fixed at the moment has been raised to above $ 1,450 per tonne.”

In the last few days, the price of oil in the international market has dropped but is still selling above $ 1,800 per tonne. “So, when this stock enters Bangladesh, I will fix the price on a monthly average basis.”

Citing a case of lessening oil supply in the market by the major oil suppliers, he said those companies had been summoned to the ministry to explain their stance.