05/01/2008 (NST Online), Putrajaya - Consumers will be limited to buying 5kg of local cooking oil per person from next week.

The move is to prevent bulk purchases of cooking oil which is believed to be one of the major causes of the current shortage in some states.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal said hypermarkets and other retail outlets would be told to display signs informing customers of the purchase limit.

"At the same time, we are increasing output of cooking oil by 10 per cent a month.

By Monday, supplies can be distributed to places experiencing the shortage," he told a press conference after meeting the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) yesterday.

The 10 per cent increase means that 53,886 metric tonnes of cooking oil will be produced a month compared with 48,000 metric tonnes a month last year.

Kelantan, Pahang and Malacca are among the states facing the shortage.

Shafie appealed to the public not to start panic-buying as the country's 23 refineries had been instructed to increase output immediately.

He said the increase in output would continue until the supply of cooking oil stabilised.

Shafie explained that the growing demand for cooking oil was due in part to the opening of more hypermarkets, eating outlets and food-manufacturing industries.

He said they were competing to buy subsidised cooking oil that was actually meant for the general public.

He added that the smuggling of cooking oil was also one of the reasons for the current shortage.

Shafie said the ministry would work with the Customs Department to beef up enforcement efforts in border areas.