The falling price of cooking oil on the world market suggests prices at home may ease soon, says Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, bdnews24.com reports. A decision on the matter may come next week after a review of the pricing situation for cooking oil, he said at a press conference on Thursday.“There is a low possibility of price rising after the review, but it might fall,” he told the media.

Mill owners raised the price of soybean oil by Tk 40 in one go on May 5 due to a severe shortage in retail markets, despite steady imports.

Afterwards, soybean oil without a bottle was sold at Tk 180 per litre. The price of bottled soybean oil was hiked from Tk 160 to Tk 198 and the new price of a 5-litre bottle was set at Tk 985.The price of refined palm oil also rose from Tk 130 to Tk 172.

“We will review the pricing situation of cooking oil in the next 5-6 days,” Commerce Minister Munshi said. “We have received news that the price on the international market is on its way down. The price of palm oil has fallen and the price of soybean oil is trending down.”

However, prices this month will be set according to last month’s prices, he said.“The price on the world market fell today too, but its impact will be felt a month from now. The price we set will be based on the landing cost in May.”

The minister said the government’s initiative to offer goods through the TCB family card will launch on Jun 15.

Traders say the skyrocketing price of cooking oil was due to the pandemic and the recent war between Ukraine and Russia, which caused international prices to spike.

Just before Eid-ul-Fitr, cooking oil seemed to disappear from retail markets, despite no major problems with imports

Dealers and wholesalers were hoarding oil at the time in an effort to drive up prices and rake in profits. A series of drives conducted by the Directorate of National Consumers; Rights Protection uncovered several instances of such hoarding.