25/07/2011 (The Star) - Subsidised cooking oil in 1kg packets have been flying off the shelves over the last few weeks, causing a shortage of supply in grocery stores and hypermarkets in several states in the country.

The surge in demand for the oil was due to the coming festive season, said Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohd Zain Dom.

“The rush is mostly from traders and small industry operators who buy them for business purposes.

“These traders are stocking up their supply to produce delicacies for the fasting month and Raya cookies,” he said.

Mohd Zain said the areas most affected by the increased demand were Perlis, Kedah and Selangor.

He added that the problem, however, did not affect the supply of subsidised 2kg and 5kg bottled cooking oil.

Mohd Zain said that under normal circumstances, the quota of subsidised cooking oil allocated to stores nationwide was enough but due to the coming festivities, the supply could not meet the increased demand.

He said that after Hari Raya, the consumption was expected to slow down, thus the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) that controlled the supply of cooking oil had agreed to release the quota meant for August to hypermarkets and stores this week.

“We expect the situation to return to normal after MPOB releases the stock into the market,” he said, adding that another meeting with the MPOB was expected to be held next week to discuss other measures to overcome the problem.

Federation of Sundry Goods Merchants Associations secretary Choong Chu Hai said the shortage of subsidised cooking oil has been going on for the past month.

“Our customers prefer the subsidised 1kg packet because it is cheaper,” he said.

The subsidised cooking oil in 1kg packet is priced at RM2.50 while others cost over RM2.75 per kg.

Choong said the shortage was further compounded by insufficient production by factories.

He said the 1kg packets of subsidised cooking oil were also prone to breaking, causing the factory's stock to be reduced.

Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin said the hypermarket tried to raise the issue with the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry, which oversees the MPOB, but to no avail.

“We do not get a lot of profit from the cooking oil but we risk losing customers if they are disappointed because we do not have enough supply,” he said.

He added that the supply of cooking oil allocated for Mydin stores has not increased even though its outlets have increased over the years.

Carrefour marketing and communications (Singapore and Malaysia) director Low Ngai Yuen also called on the Government to review its cooking oil quota so that it would correspond with the hypermarket's growth.

AEON Co. (M) Bhd public relations manager Zakimarhaini Mohd Said said the company's outlets have not yet encounter problems with its stock of cooking oil but noted that the supply was moving off the shelves very fast.