Unstable edible oil market
It is now apparent that the powerful oil mafias are playing a cat and mouse game with the government by breaking the promises they made to the Prime Minister, that they will not increase the prices of oil during the month of Ramadan. It is also heartening to know that the Prime Minister has also agreed to the importers' demand of slashing down the VAT on oil from 15% to 10% in order to keep the price to tolerable levels. However, despite government's compromising attitude, the importers seem indifferent in their attitude and keep on increasing the prices whimsically showing their high handedness on the matter. The government must form a taskforce to see why the prices of oil are going up almost every day. Government must also appoint more importers to break the monopoly of a few handful importers. It is also suggested that if the taskforce finds any anomalies or wrong doings in the business, let their license be revoked immediately. Government should also direct the authorities concerned to monitor imports and mills that are refining oil strictly. Moreover, govt. must assign substantial powers to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh and put them at the helm to quell the manipulators by importing oil in large scale.
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