Sugar refiners of the country recently complained that some importers are under-invoicing their shipments of refined sugar in a bid to make more profit from higher prices of the sweetener.
Although soybean oil prices have dropped in the international market, consumers in Bangladesh are yet to reap the benefit of this reduction as domestic prices remain the same.
Wheat imports by the private sector have continued to remain low in Bangladesh than the last fiscal year as businesses are facing persisting difficulties in opening letters of credits owing to the dollar shortage at banks.
Consumers in Bangladesh are still paying higher prices for sugar although a week has passed since the National Board of Revenue (NBR) removed the import duty on both raw and refined sweetener.
Wholesale and retail prices of palm oil in Dhaka have increased by Tk 8 to Tk 10 per litre in the last couple of days, which importers and traders say was caused by price rises in international markets and a reduction in supply.