Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce Tapan Kanti Ghosh has said the prices of edible oil may drop soon as prices in the international markets are declining.

“Within the next two days, the commerce ministry will fix the prices of edible afresh for the domestic market after reviewing the data on edible oil import, supply and stock”, the senior secretary said at a press conference at his office in Dhaka on Sunday.

"We are working to adjust dollar prices to reduce the price of edible oil in the local market." However, he did not exactly say how much the price of the edible oil can be declined as Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission has been working on it.

Commerce Ministry held a press conference to brief the journalists on the recently concluded 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva.

In absence of the commerce minister who is infected with Covid 19 for the second time, Ghosh briefed the journalists at the pre-scheduled press conference.

Ghosh said an opportunity has been created for Bangladesh to extend of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) trade benefit after the graduation to a developing country in 2026.

The WTO members agreed to extend the trade facility to the graduating LDCs at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva. However, further negotiation is needed to achieve the LDC trade extension after graduation.

It is expected that the decision on the LDC trade extension for the graduating LDCs may come in the next WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in December in next year.