SOYA bean oil prices have registered another round of increase, meaning not only economic pressure on households but also the continued dominance of a powerful industrial syndicate over the market. The Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners and Vanaspati Manufacturers’ Association has increased the price of a one-litre bottle to Tk 195, barely three weeks after the last increase set at Tk 190. What is troubling is that while the association says that the increase was aligned with government approval and international trends, commerce ministry officials deny having approved the increase. This exposes a stark contradiction between the association’s claims and the government’s position. This practice is far from new. The oil millers’ association has repeatedly engineered artificial supply shortage to force the government to comply with the level it inflates prices. Claiming that announcement on price increase is official, the association not only misleads the public but also erodes confidence in regulatory agencies tasked with protecting consumer interests. Prices of larger bottles and loose oil have similarly increased. The persistent reliance on imported edible oils makes the market even more volatile, allowing syndicates to exploit global fluctuation and disregard consumer interests.
The latest price surge exposes the persistent manipulative tactics of the oil millers’ association. The association has created artificial shortage and exaggerated the supply gap to make it a case...
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