Cut expenditure, too much consumption of cooking oil for healthy life

 

January 21

 

The Taninthayi Region has been decorated with thriving oil palm plantations for many years. In recent decades, the region was dubbed as an oil pot for the country. Likewise, the Ayeyawady Region was identified as an oil pot for the nation for many decades. Cultivation of various edible oil crops also thrived in the Magway Region and the Mandalay Region.

 

In Myanmar, individual oil consumption is still high. Based on the data calculated by experts, each person consumes 1.58 ticals of cooking oil for health per day and some six visses of oil per year.

 

Truly, too much consumption of oil cannot benefit the physical structures of humans and it brings bad impacts on health conditions. Everybody, as well as each family, should cut the cost of cooking oil. Hence, the country can reduce spending on foreign exchange.

 

The domestic consumption of edible oil is estimated at 1 million tonnes per year. Myanmar produces just about 400,000 tonnes of cooking oil including sesame, groundnut, sunflower and palm oil per year. To meet the self-sufficiency in the domestic market, businesspersons import about 700,000 tonnes of cooking oil abroad on a yearly basis, especially from the world’s main palm oil exporters Malaysia and Indonesia.

 

In the 2020-21 financial year, Myanmar imported cooking oil worth US$800 million. It means the foreign currency whoever owns flowed out of the country to buy the cooking oil. Indeed, it is an acceptable loss for the nation.

 

It is because edible oil crops can be grown in the country to produce cooking oil. If the people cut consumption of cooking oil, Myanmar’s 400,000 tonnes of cooking oil may meet the local demand to some extent. If so, just some amount of foreign exchange needs to be spent on the import of cooking oil. So, foreign exchange to be spent on cooking oil, as usual, can be used in other sectors.

 

Everybody needs to know too much consumption of cooking oil invites various fatal diseases. Hence, it is necessary to reduce oil consumption while striving for increasing the production of cooking oil for both local consumption and export purpose.

 

That is why everybody needs to consider that it would be the first and last chance for their longevity in good health conditions to be free from oil-based diseases by cutting the expenditure to import cooking oil and reducing oil consumption. GNLM