Bottled soybean oil has been unavailable at wholesale and retail stores in Bagha upazila of Rajshahi for the past 15 days, causing distress for the general public.
Many people, thinking it's a shortage, have resorted to buying loose soybean oil. The customers said that the price of soybean oil has suddenly increased, and although it was available at a few stores, the price charged by retailers was higher than the price listed on the bottle.
The customers have started blaming the traders, dealers of bottled soybean oil, and companies for the sudden shortage. They claimed that they can only buy soybean oil only if they purchase other products like rice, lentils, semolina, turmeric, and spices of the same company.
Meanwhile, soybean oil sellers said that sales representatives from these companies are only providing oil if retailers stock products that are not in demand in the market. As a result, some shops have stopped keeping bottled oil.
It was learnt that although there is a shortage of bottled soybean oil, some shops still had a small stock, which they were selling at higher prices than the given price on the label. This has led to frequent conflicts between customers and sellers. Allegations have been made that profit-driven shopkeepers are selling loose oil at inflated prices.
Bakul Mia, a grocery store owner in Bagha market, said that due to a lack of new packaged soybean oil bottles and the sudden price increase, he and other traders are now selling loose soybean oil at a slightly higher price than before.
It was also learnt that the price of loose soybean oil has gone up unexpectedly. Earlier, it was being sold at Tk 165 Taka, which is now being sold at Tk 190 to Tk 200 per liter. Although prices of bottled soybean oil have not increased, shopkeepers are charging more than the marked price for bottled oil, claiming that although they bought it at a lower rate earlier, the market price has now increased and they have also raised the price in accordance with that.
Another customer, Jamal Uddin, said, there is no bottled soybean oil available in the retail and wholesale stores in our upazila. Thinking it was a shortage, we bought loose oil, but later I found out that the issue is due to sales representatives of companies selling oil only on the condition that retailers buy other products of their company too. Retailers are now selling loose soybean oil because they are not making any profit by selling bottled oil from certain companies.
Bagha Upazila Nirbahi Officer, Ms Shammi Akhtar, said, I will investigate the matter. Action will be taken under consumer rights law against those involved in such practices.
