28/8 /2006  (Financial Express)  Refiners have urged the government to impose a specific duty on import of the crude edible oil to bring down the prices of the essential in the local markets.
Currently, there is 22.13 per cent tax including value added tax (VAT) and landing costs on import of the crude edible oil.
Abul Hashem, an importer said, if the government fixes a specific duty on import of crude edible like the raw sugar, the price of the item will come down significantly in the local markets.
This will enable the consumers to buy different varieties of edible oil at a reasonable price during the month of Ramadan, he said.
Sources at the National Board of Revenue (NBR) said they will discuss the issue about imposition of a specific duty on import of crude edible oil.
When asked the country manager of the Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council (MPOPC) Fakhrul Alam said it will have a positive impact on the prices of the edible oil in the local markets if the government can fix a specific import duty.
But it should be lower than the current duty amount, he said.
He said there is no possibility of edible oil price hike at this moment as the supply of the item is adequate to meet the demand.
He said businessmen have appealed to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) recently urging it to reduce import duty or to impose a specific import duty on import of some essential commodities including edible oil and gram for serving the local markets.
Sources in the Ministry of Commerce said a meeting with the businessmen is expected to be held today (Sunday) or tomorrow to discuss the supply situation and prices of the essential commodities.
On Saturday, palm crude oil was selling at the US $ 510 per tonne while soybean crude was selling at the $ 565 per tonne at the international markets, sources said.
The market operators said the monthly consumption of the item is more or less 90,000 tonnes and during the Ramadan the consumption of the item might increase by 30,000 tonnes.
Traders said at the local markets, at the wholesale level, prices of super palm oil, palm and soybean oil remained unchanged at Tk 1760-Tk 1770 per maund, Tk 1720 and Tk 1725 per and Tk 1850-Tk 1860 per maund respectively Saturday.