Soybean oil still out of market even after price hike

Masud Alam, a day labourer, was ecstatic after buying a two-litre bottle of soybean oil from a wholesale shop in Dhaka after standing in the line for a while on Friday morning.

"Returning to Dhaka after the Eid holidays, I found no cooking oil at home. Then I searched the whole market but could not find a litre of oil," he told The Business Standard.

"I heard that the scarcity of oil in markets owes to the price hike. Anyhow, I am happy to buy 2 litres for Tk160 per litre. I usually need two litres of oil a week, but now I have to manage two weeks with two litres," he added.

Masud knew the cooking staple has been off market since before Eid, but what he did not know is the latest price hike is not the reason why it is not available in the market now.

Edible oil was still out of market on Friday although the government hiked its prices on Thursday.

Another customer Mofidul Islam, who works at a private company, told TBS, "Even though the price of soybean oil abruptly skyrocketed by Tk38 a litre, I could not find any today in the whole market. Now do we have to do all the cooking without oil?

"Commodity prices are soaring but my salary is not…Is it possible anymore for a common man to run the family in Dhaka?"

Hotels and restaurants in the capital are also struggling to conduct their daily business and are considering hiking the prices of food items they sell.

Abdus Sabur is a caterer who provides food for about 400 employees of Bashundhara City Shopping Complex at low prices.

Sabur went to the Karwan Bazar market on Friday afternoon to buy some cooking oil, but retailers told him that they had run out of stock. He then moved on to the wholesale market and managed to buy only 4 litres of soybean oil after waiting for about an hour.

Abdus Sabur told TBS, "I have to cook three times a day for about 400 people. What am I going to cook with only 4 litres of oil?"

"I could not find soybean oil in any of the nearby markets including Karwan Bazar. Even the wholesalers have nothing. After browsing the market for a while, I was able to buy 4 litres of oil from one Ankhi Enterprise, dealer of Pusti Soybean oil, at Tk160 per litre," he added.

Meanwhile, some customers alleged that Ankhi Enterprise was selling oil at Tk160 per litre sensing the presence of journalists, otherwise most dealers are selling edible oil at a higher price.

Most consumers experienced similar scenarios while buying cooking oil on Friday. The stores that have oil in stock are charging more from customers.

Visiting at least 40 retail and wholesale shops in the capital's Karwan Bazar, Bangla Motor, Farmgate, Agargaon, Shewrapara, Agargaon Taltola Bazar on Friday, no one except one wholesaler found to have soybean oil in limited stock.

A retail shop in Karwan Bazar was selling soybean oil at TK220 per litre. Ankhi Enterprise, an oil dealer in Karwan Bazar, had Pusti soybean oil and loose oil. However, its stock was insignificant compared to the need, said Siddique Hossain, proprietor of another dealer Siddique Enterprise.

Siddique Hossain told TBS, "There are about 6-7 oil dealers including myself in this market. I supply more than 2,000 cartons of oil to different retail shops daily but I only got 200 cartons of oil today and the rate is as usual."

"Everyone is closing their shops because dealers are not able to supply oil. I cannot give more than two litres to customers," he said.

New stock of oils has not yet hit the market after price hike. But, Siddique was selling loose soybean oil at Tk200 per litre, and palm oil at Tk198 per litre.

When asked, he told TBS, "It may take another 2-3 days for the new oil to come in the market but the loose oil is no longer labelled so I am selling the loose oil at the new price."

Shariful Islam of Sonali Traders, a wholesaler, told TBS that he was not getting cooking oil sine before Eid. "Dealers are not supplying any oil. Now, the price has gone up. Maybe we will get oil in 2-3 days."

Md Maksud, shopkeeper of Haji Mizan Enterprise in Karwan Bazar market, also confirmed about the persisting oil crisis before Eid. "I have some stock, and I am selling them to regular customers for Tk220 a litre."

When asked about the high price, he said the demand for oil has surged amid stock shortage and hence, the high price.

Md Yasin, owner of Bhai Bhai General Store in Agargaon Taltola Bazar, told TBS that there has been no oil in the market for the past one week. "I could not sell any oil before Eid. I am hoping that companies will deliver oil tomorrow."

Soybean oil shortage has been going on in markets across the country since a week before Eid. But the situation turned worse after Eid. Despite Thursday's price hike, most of the markets in the capital are running out of stock.

The government on Thursday fixed the price of a litre of bottled soybean oil at Tk198, a 23.75% increase from Tk160 per litre.

According to the new price, a five-litre container of soybean oil will cost Tk985, up from Tk760 and a litre of loose soybean oil will cost Tk180, an increase of 32.35% from Tk 136.

Eateries mull food price hike

Due to the ongoing oil crisis and soaring prices, hotels and restaurants in the capital are also struggling with their business. Many are considering hiking the price of food, while others are thinking about reducing the amount of food.

"We need about 30 litres of cooking oil every day," said Sujan Khan, manager of Charulata Restaurant in Karwan Bazar.

"I will try to cook on Friday with the oils that I had bought before Eid. However, we may have to increase the price if the price goes up. Raising prices is a tough call to make. In the last one year, we have not increased the price of any food but the prices of other essential items have gone up significantly," he added.

Shakil Ahmed, manager of Al-Rahman Restaurant at Bangla Motor, told TBS, "We need about 20 litres of oil per day. On Friday, I visited many shops and bought Super oil at Tk195 per litre. But I could not find any oil in the market today."

The restaurant will have to be closed if the shortage continues tomorrow, he said.

About food price hike, he said, "Prices of all commodity items in the market have increased. I myself have increased the price of food a few months ago but now I am thinking of reducing the quantity without increasing the price."