Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi on Thursday said prices of edible oil may fall in Bangladesh in line with declining prices in the international market.

“We have seen that the prices of edible oil are declining in the international market and Indonesia has also withdrawn its ban on exporting edible oil. We will review the prices of oil within five to seven days and will fix new rate. It will take one and a half month time to come into effect,” he said.

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The minister said these while speaking at a press briefing held at the conference room of the ministry.

The good news is that the price of palm oil has come down and the price of soybean oil has started to decline, he said.

Responding to a question about the prices of rice, Tipu, said “It is under the jurisdiction of the Food Ministry and so far I know, eight teams are working against illegal rice hoarding. We have no scarcity of rice. We are here to see the interest of the low-income people and we have to ensure fair prices of essential commodities.”

Rice which is available at Tk 50 per kg in market is being sold at Tk 70-75 per kg after packaging those and  there are customers in the country to buy those packed rice as people’s purchasing power has increased, he said.

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Replying to another question, the minister said, Three crore people out of 17 crore are living below the poverty line and the reality is 20% people are low-income people. Besides, a total of 4.5 to 5 crore people in the country have been leading their life like those in the western world, he said adding “We are trying to protect the interest of the 3 crore people who belong to low-income group.”