DOT Desk:The government yesterday reduced the retail price of loose super palm oil by about Tk 12 per litre, and packaged and loose sugar by Tk 6 per kilogramme so that local consumers can benefit from the declining cost of these products in the international market,reports TheDailyStar. The commerce ministry said in a statement that the retail price of loose super palm oil will now be Tk 133 per litre, which is 10 per cent less than the essential cooking ingredient’s previous market value of between Tk 145 and Tk 150 per litre in Dhaka city.
Meanwhile, the retail price of packaged sugar, which was selling for as much as Tk 95 per kg in the capital, has been reduced by 4 per cent to Tk 89 per kg. Similarly, the ministry has decreased the price of loose sugar by 9 per cent to Tk 84 per kg. The new prices will come into effect from September 25, the statement said. The move comes at a time when consumers are being battered by the higher cost of essential commodities.The new price level of these commodities was fixed after an assessment by the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission (BTTC), according to Senior Commerce Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh. “We are also assessing the import price, stock and international prices of some other goods and may announce new retail prices for those soon,” he told The Daily Star by phone.The BTTC can assess the prices of just 17 commodities, which are mainly imported, while the agriculture ministry assesses the prices of some basic commodities like rice.