Kamalganj (Moulvibazar) Representative:
Fried foods are the first on the list of favorites of fasting people during Iftar in the holy month of Ramadan. And soybean oil is needed for this. However, there has been a severe shortage of bottled soybean oil in the market for almost a month before Ramadan. The shortage of soybean oil in the retail and wholesale market of Kamalganj in Moulvibazar has not yet ended. Even after visiting several markets in the upazila, buyers are unable to buy bottled soybean oil. And sellers are not able to provide information about when the oil supply will be restored to the market. However, open soybean oil is available at an additional price. On the spot, visiting various markets in Patan Ushar, Shamshernagar, Adampur, and Munshibazar unions of Kamalganj upazila, we saw a severe shortage of bottled soybean oil. Although buyers bought their fasting expenses together, they expressed disappointment at not receiving oil. Many people are running from one market to another for oil, but have not been able to collect oil. Some are forced to buy unhealthy oil because they cannot get soybean oil. And even though bottled oil is available in a few shops, people are buying it for 25-30 taka per liter more than the fixed price.
Buyers said that every year during the month of Ramadan, the price of everything increases. Not only the price, but there are many products that cannot be purchased even with money. Bottled soybean oil cannot be purchased even with money. Such a shortage of oil has never been seen before. In addition, the price of palm oil is being sold at a price of 10-15 taka per liter. A buyer named Saif Ahmed from Kamalganj Upazila said that bottled soybean oil was not available in the market. I visited 5 shops and got 1 liter of oil in one shop. That too for 20 taka more than the fixed price. Sellers are selling open soybean oil at a price of 20-30 taka per liter. It seems that when this fasting month comes, businessmen in our country become monsters for extra profits. Retailers in the upazila said that there has been a shortage of bottled soybean oil in the market for the last 3 months. The price of oil increased about 1 month ago. When I went to buy oil in the wholesale market, they directly informed me that there was no oil. There was a severe shortage of oil in February. There is no way to provide oil to the buyers. Mashrafe, the owner of a grocery shop in Shahidnagar Bazar, said, "We cannot sell soybean oil as there is no oil in the market. Many buyers are running away from the shop due to the lack of oil." Many other traders have made similar complaints.
Md. Al Amin, assistant director of the Moulvibazar district office of the National Consumer Rights Protection Department, said, "There is a shortage of soybean oil in the market. We hope that this problem will be resolved within a few days. At the same time, we are conducting market surveillance operations every day. We are also fining those who keep soybean oil in stores and say no to buyers. We are also fining those who are selling it at an excessive price if we receive complaints."
