Bottled soybean oil became scarce in many stores and markets as the demand for edible oil spiked ahead of Ramadan.

Shopkeepers and distributors say the oil refineries have been delivering less than the demand for a month.

As the demand skyrocketed, many shops in the capital, Chattogram, Khulna, Savar, and Narayanganj, ran out of soybean oil.

In the capital's Karwan Bazar kitchen market yesterday evening, none of the shops visited by a correspondent of this newspaper had bottled soybean oil.

Several shops were selling non-bottled soybean oil for around Tk 190 a litre. Rice bran oil and sunflower oil were available at most of the shops.

The maximum retail price of bottled soybean oil is Tk 175 a litre. But businessmen take advantage of the supply shortage and sell edible oil at higher prices, said several shopkeepers in Karwan Bazar and Savar.

Muhammad Gofran of Cumilla General Store in Karwan Bazar said he received some bottles in the afternoon, but those were sold out within 10 minutes.

Nasir Uddin, a shopkeeper from Khilkhet, was at Karwan Bazar last night, frustrated after failing to buy bottled soybean oil for his shop.

Rakib Hasan, manager of AT Enterprise, a distributor of edible oil, said his firm has been in need of around 2,000 cartoons of oil, but received only 50 after waiting for three days.

Bottled soybean oil was being sold for more than the retail price in Tejturi bazar, Kazipara and Shewrapara.

Non-bottled oil in the Bhasantek and Korail areas was being sold for Tk 200 per litre.

In Chattogram city, the picture was similar in Kazir Dewri and Khatunganj markets.