Dhaka, Feb. 15 -- Salesperson Azhar Ali was pouring edible oil in a bottle from a blue large drum on the second floor of the Karwanbazar kitchen market following a consumer's demand.

Consumers in need of oil in bulk, especially for hotels and restaurants, prefer buying it from drums to get cheaper than the prices of the bottled ones," he said.

Mr Ali disclosed this to the FE last week.

Upon identifying harmful effects of loose oil, industries ministry issued an executive order to phase out bulk soybean oil sold in drums by 01 July 2021.

On 02 June 2022, it extended the timeline to stop loose soybean sales by 31 June 2022 and palm oil by December 31, but to no avail. The deadlines were missed.

The last unofficial deadline to stop the ...