Edible oil prices see the biggest increase in Bangladesh’s history as the government moves to put an end to the unprecedented crunch of the essential cooking item.

A banker in Naogaon did not find soybean oil in the local market. A woman in Natore was lucky to score a one-litre bottle for an unusually higher price. A private firm employee in Chattogram decided to make do with mustard oil after failing to find soybean oil in her neighborhood.

The retail prices of non-bottled and bottled soybean and palm oil have gone up by Tk 10-15 per litre overnight due to a supply crunch in the aftermath of Indonesia’s export ban on crude and refined palm oil imposed on Wednesday.

The government today started the procurement of Boro paddy across the country. Boro paddy is being procured directly from farmers at Tk 27 per kg. 

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday said her government is doing its best to control prices of daily essentials amid the high global inflation rate.

From village to town, printed and used paper is widely used in Bangladesh to serve food, especially street food. But the real question is how safe it is for our health. The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has also warned about using printed paper and polythene for serving oily and warm food, but the implementation of the decision is not properly regulated.

At least 30 people including nine judges fell sick yesterday (April 21, 2022) due to food poisoning after taking iftar at a restaurant in Pabna on Wednesday (April 20, 2022).

Despite record imports of soybean oil in the first quarter, consumers are having to pay an additional Tk 36-38 for every litre of non-bottled soybean oil over the price set by the government.

New research published in Diabetologia finds that the consumption of healthy plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and legumes, is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in generally healthy people and support their role in diabetes prevention.

Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzak today that the price of rice will definitely increase if paddy is damaged in the floods in haor areas.

The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) yesterday said the government should frame the budget for the next fiscal year with the main focus on easing the burden of rising prices of essentials and shrinking purchasing power of low, fixed and middle-income families.

After a two-year break due to Covid restrictions, Chawkbazar iftar market is once again buzzing with people. Every Ramadan, this place is the topic of discussion because of the popular iftar items sold there. They look great in photos, but to find out what they’re really like, we paid a visit to the place and checked out the available items for a first-hand experience.

Meat traders of Sylhet metropolitan area resumed selling beef and mutton today, after suspending it for four days – demanding a hike in prices fixed by the local administration.

Excluded from the government’s social safety net, middle-income families are struggling to cope with the rising prices of basic goods and services.

Experts yesterday called for cracking down on syndicates of traders who hike the prices of essentials during Ramadan like clockwork every year by manufacturing a crisis.

For the last two months, 35-year old security guard Saiful Islam could not send any money to his parents living in a village in Rangpur, one of the poverty-stricken divisions in Bangladesh.

Zahed Sharif, an entrepreneur running an online jewellery store, will not be able to enjoy Ramadan as he did before. “Thanks to soaring prices of everyday commodities, in many households including mine, there will be simpler food on the table,” he said.

Edible oil recently underwent price manipulation at each of the four stages of the value chain within the country involving refiners, dealers or supply order traders, wholesale traders and retailers, according to the Directorate of National Consumers’ Right Protection.

Traders stopped selling beef and mutton in Sylhet city this morning for an indefinite period. They are demanding a hike in meat prices set by Sylhet City Corporation.

Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi took heavy flak in the Jatiya Sangsad yesterday for his ministry’s failure to arrest the price hike of daily essentials, which has worsened the plight of limited-income people.