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Bangladesh’s Economy Assessment
The think tank claims that the current automatic pricing mechanism does not account for international markets.
According to the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), the government might use a market-based pricing strategy to lower fuel prices by Tk 10 to Tk 15 per litre today.
The independent think-tank stated during a briefing at its headquarters to provide its assessment of the state of Bangladesh’s economy for the 2024–25 fiscal year that the government has lowered fuel prices under the automatic pricing formula, which do not reflect the global market.
Funded by International Monetary Fund
In March 2024, the government implemented the automatic gasoline pricing method to reflect monthly international market prices at the behest of the International Monetary Fund.
The costs of kerosene and diesel, which are now marketed for Tk 104 per litre, were lowered by Tk 1 per litre for January.
Helen Mashiyat Preoty, CPD researcher, acknowledges issues
Nonetheless, it maintained the monthly pricing of gasoline and octane at Tk 121 and Tk 125, respectively.
Helen Mashiyat Preoty, a CPD researcher, stated during the briefing that while the automatic pricing system for fuel adjustment under IMF conditions is a step in the right direction, it is not without its problems.
People anticipated that fuel costs would drop sharply in tandem with the decline in global prices following the installation of the automatic pricing system, she continued.
Bangladesh Fuel Oil Pricing Issues
Unfortunately, she continued, there haven’t been many noticeable changes in fuel oil costs as a result of the incorrect process.
According to her, the Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) need to update their fuel oil pricing algorithms.
Fuel prices might be lowered as a result, and the automated pricing system that is in place now, which places the onus of extra expenses on customers, is intolerable, she continued.
According to Preoty, starting on January 1st of this year, the cost of kerosene and fuel was lowered by Tk 1 per liter.
Such price changes are incompatible with a market-based pricing structure, per a research done by the CPD last year.
She stated that in addition to the BPC’s pricing strategy, the BERC has an existing gasoline pricing mechanism that has not yet been put into practice.
But if BERC is given the task of determining prices in the future, the importance of the approach the commission takes would grow, she continued.
