Edible palm oil reference price rises again in Myanmar
12/09/2024 (Eng.Mizzima) - The wholesale reference price for edible palm oil set by the Military Council was 6,490 Kyat per viss (approx. 1.6 Kg) on 1 September but now refixed at 6,605 Kyat per viss on 9 September, rising by more than 100 Kyat.
The edible palm oil price in the open market is about 18,000 Kyat per viss and in some places it is nearly 20,000 Kyat. Palm oil retailers say the price will rise again after the reference price was hiked.
The Military Council’s Ministry of Commerce said they fixed the wholesale reference price is based on the Freight on Board (FOB) price at Malaysian ports, the major supplier to Myanmar, and freight costs, port duties and rates, insurance, global price fluctuations etc.
In the Yangon open market, the edible palm oil price reached up to 17,500 Kyats per viss in the last week of August. The US dollar exchange rate is falling in the market, and it was 5,000 Kyats against the dollar on 9 September. But the wholesale reference price set by the Ministry is still rising.
Consumers said they bought palm oil at the retail price of over 7,000 Kyats per viss from ration shops with ration books issued by the Cooperative Society.
People in Yangon have had to buy palm oil with Cooperative Society ration books since early September by standing in long queues at these ration shops. They can buy only half a viss per household, or per ration book, once every ten days.
After the Junta chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, said that the Cooperative System is the best for the country and it must be implemented, the palm oil distribution became a ration system by issuing ration books to each household with their household registration.
According to data compiled by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, Myanmar imported over 310,000 tonnes of edible palm oil in 2021, and it fell to over 230,000 tonnes in 2022.