Global edible oil prices have risen in recent months, and oil bought during that period has yet to reach the country. Despite no official price adjustment, the market for refined edible oil in Bangladesh has risen abnormally amid additional buying pressure linked to the war situation in the Middle East. Loose soybean oil is now selling for at least BDT 30 a litre more in the domestic market than the official price.
Traders point to the global increase in oil prices for the rising wholesale prices of loose edible oils. This has pushed up retail prices as the product passes through multiple intermediaries. The war in the Middle East, stoking fears of a shortage among consumers, has added to the instability.
After talks with the government, the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners & Vanaspati Manufacturers’ Association reset edible oil prices on December 7 last year. From December 8, bottled soybean oil was priced at BDT 195 per litre; a five-litre pack cost BDT 955. Loose soybean oil was set at BDT 176 a litre, and open-market palm oil at BDT 166 per litre.
Under standard procedure, the commerce ministry reviews global booking prices and import costs for edible oil each month to approve increases or decreases. But the recently dissolved interim government, ahead of elections for the 13th parliament, took no action to adjust prices. The officially administered price for bottled soybean oil subsequently remains frozen even as global costs have climbed. The rules governing loose oil sales, however, are less rigorously monitored. Prices at the mill gate and in wholesale markets have risen as a result.
According to a commerce ministry report, the price of crude soybean oil rose on February 9. On that day, the global price increased by $2.86 to $1,171.64 a tonne. Two months ago, crude soybean was trading at under $1,100 a tonne. A year ago, the global price for the same grade stood at $1,076.08 a tonne.
Importers say that although global prices have risen, businesses have been unable to secure a timely adjustment. With a general election followed by Ramadan, they made no push for the ministry to act. Unrefined edible oil now costs higher and the recent conflict has driven up the very cost of refining as well. That has created turbulence in wholesale markets for loose oil, even as bottled soybean prices remain unchanged. The impact on retail has been significant, importers believe, because prices have risen on transactions involving older supply orders.
The World Bank’s Pink Sheet shows crude soybean oil averaging $1,116 a tonne in December 2025. The average price rose to $1,154 in January and climbed further to $1,270 in February this year. That represents a three-month increase of $154. The crude oil imported nearly three months ago is now being refined and sold on the domestic market, allowing mill owners to charge a premium for loose soybean. Bottled soybean oil, however, remains pegged to the old official price, a constraint traders cannot evade.
The wholesale market for palm oil has also turned volatile. Ten days ago, refined loose palm oil was trading at BDT 5,850 to BDT 5,880 a maund (37.32 kg). Since the war began and soybean prices rose, the palm oil market has surged by roughly BDT 160 to 170 a maund, with recent transactions hitting a high of BDT 6,050.
The World Bank data confirm the trend: unrefined palm oil prices have risen along with soybean. In December 2025, palm oil traded at $980 a tonne on global markets. The price rose to $1,005 in January this year and averaged $1,042 a tonne throughout February — an increase of $62 over three months.
Global soybean prices have risen, Golam Mawla, president of the Bangladesh Wholesale Edible Oil Traders’ Association, acknowledged to Bonik Barta. “With no discussion at the commerce ministry, importers have responded by raising prices for loose oil supplied from the mill gate while reducing the supply of bottled oil to the market. The situation echoes the instability that hit the edible oil market nationwide in mid-2025.”
He fears wholesale and retail markets will turn volatile again if the government fails to act, given the global conflict.
Biswajit Saha, director (corporate and regulatory affairs) at City Group, told Bonik Barta: “Global unrefined edible oil prices have risen sharply. Despite the surge in soybean costs, there has been no price adjustment for three months. All relevant government agencies are regularly collecting documentation from importers, but traders themselves haven’t petitioned the government for a price hike, citing the election, Ramadan and the interests of consumers.”
He warned that without an adjustment, the edible oil market could again face turbulence.
The cost of importing and refining edible oil has climbed because of rising global prices and higher fuel costs stemming from the war. Traders fear import volumes will fall without government intervention such as duty relief on imports or a negotiated price adjustment. That would risk future supply crunches and an abnormal spike in the price of the essential commodity.
Importers, unable to pass on higher costs because domestic prices remain frozen, have already reduced supply, according to trade sources. That has stoked demand for loose oil, pushing its price higher still. Many branded soybean oil producers are still not supplying their bottled oil to the market at desired levels. Ordinary consumers now fear that, as an artificial shortage persists, loose soybean prices will continue their steady climb.
Data from trading houses in Khatunganj, the country’s largest wholesale consumer goods market, shows that refined soybean oil traded at between BDT 6,750 and BDT 6,800 a maund two months ago. As global prices rose, the cost of supply orders pushed local prices beyond the BDT 7,000 mark. Last week, after the outbreak of the Middle East war, traders capitalising on the international disruption to fuel and freight increased soybean prices up by at least BDT 160 — pushing it to BDT 7,160 a maund. Wholesalers say the steady increase stokes fears of further instability.