Cooking oil price to come down within next two weeks, says Annuar
18/07/2022 (New Straits Times), Kuala Lumpur - The government expects the price of cooking oil to go down by at least 10 per cent within the next two weeks.
Jihad Task Force chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa said this was because the market price for crude palm oil had gone down.
"So, we hope industry players and manufacturers will reduce the price of cooking oil, just as fast as how they raised their prices when the market price shot up.
"We ask for the cooperation of all manufacturers and we want to see the prices reduced by at least 10 per cent from the current retail price now which is about RM42 for a 5kg bottle of cooking oil," he said in a press conference in Parliament today.
Annuar, who is communications and multimedia minister, also said bottled cooking oil was not being subsidised, therefore there was no price control being enforced.
"Be fair. If you can increase prices in a hurry when the market value of palm oil was hiked, then you can also decrease prices just as fast. We don't want the industry to give the wrong signals to the people."
The subsidy for bottled cooking oil was removed starting June 30, while the subsidy for 1kg cooking oil in polybags had remained.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi had said the subsidy for bottled pure cooking oil was just a temporary measure and had cost the government about RM20 million every month.
It was reported that the government was expected to bear more than RM2 billion this year to maintain the subsidised price for the 1kg polybag cooking oil. Last year, the cooking oil subsidy was RM1.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Annuar said the Jualan Keluarga Malaysia programme (PJKM) will be expanded to 613 state legislative assembly and parliamentary constituencies nationwide.
It would also be held every week of the month, and involve a total of five ministries, namely the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, the Agriculture and Food Industries Ministry, Rural Development Ministry, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry, and the Federal Territories Ministry.
"Before this, PJKM was held twice a month in 222 parliamentary constituencies. Now it will be held four times a month at 613 locations. Among the items that will be sold are chicken, eggs, cooking oi and rice. It will be priced up to 20 per cent less than the market price, depending on the type of product.
"What's important is that we want to prevent price hikes and ensure that people have the option to buy items at a lower price."
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