The government yesterday increased the retail price of bottled soybean oil by Tk 4 to Tk 167 per litre, adjusting it in line with the removal of duty benefits on imports and a price hike in the international market.

Meanwhile, the retail price of five-litre bottles has been fixed at Tk 818, up by Tk 18 from the previous rate, while the price of loose super palm oil is now Tk 135 per litre.

On the other hand, the retail price of loose soybean oil has been reduced by Tk 2 to Tk 147 per litre.

Ahsanul Islam Titu, the state minister for commerce, announced the new prices at a press conference at the commerce ministry in Dhaka yesterday.

Refiners said the National Board of Revenue (NBR) cut the VAT at the import stage for soybean and palm oil from 15 percent to 10 percent through a notification on February 7.

The government had also exempted them from the indirect tax at the production and trading stages to contain prices of the essential items ahead of and during the month of Ramadan.

However, the privilege ended on April 15.

As such, the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners' and Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association increased prices, citing the expiry of the reduced VAT benefit, as per a statement from the association.

Reducing the VAT by 5 percent resulted in a Tk 10 reduction of retail prices of edible oil.

In another letter on April 1, the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC) recommended that the NBR extend the tenure of the 5 percent VAT exemption up to June 30.

The BTTC also said there is a possibility of further price hikes of edible oil as the cost of non-refined soybean and palm oil rose by 11-13 percent in the international market over the past month.