21/01/2008 (People's Daily Online, China, P.R.) - Supply of cooking oil to Rantau Panjang, Malaysia-Thailand border town, will be reduced to curb smuggling which has become rampant, Malaysian official said in Kota Baharu, capital city of northern Kelantan state on Monday.

The border town received one-third of the 55,000 tons of cooking oil supplied to Kelantan, which was in excess for a district with a rather small population, Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal said after holdinga briefing on issues related to prices of consumer goods.

"That is why we will reduce the supply as the excess has resulted in cooking oil being smuggled to the neighboring country," the national news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.

However, the ministry had not decided on the amount to be reduced, he added.

Although supply would be reduced, consumers in Rantau Panjang should not worry about a possible shortage of the commodity as the amount supplied should be sufficient, he said.

"We've decided to reduce the supply to the district to overcome smuggling which could cause shortage of cooking oil for the local consumers, but the reduction will not affect their requirements," he said.

Cooking oil price in Malaysia is cheaper than that in Thailand, and some people smuggle cooking oil from Malaysia to Thailand for profit.