Yangon palm oil reference price spikes at K6,610 per viss

THE wholesale reference rate of palm oil set for the Yangon mar­ket continued to rise at K6,610 per viss for a week ending 21 September, up from K6,520 reg­istered in the previous week, according to the Supervisory Committee on Edible Oil Import and Distribution.

 

The Supervisory Commit­tee on Edible Oil Import and Distribution under the Ministry of Commerce has been closely observing the FOB prices in Malaysia and Indonesia, add­ing transport costs, tariffs and banking services to decide the wholesale market reference rate for edible oil weekly.

 

Despite the reference price, the market price is way too high. To control overcharging, the Consumer Affairs Department under the Ministry of Com­merce informed consumers of lodging complaints for over­charging through the call cen­tre hotline in late August. The department urges consumers not to buy palm oil at high prices.

 

The Committee notified that any person who is in­volved in price gouging and oil storage to attempt mar­ket manipulation will face le­gal action under the Essen­tial Goods and Services Law. The department is working to­gether with the Myanmar Oil Dealers’ Association and the cooking oil importing companies to offer affordable rates of im­ported palm oil for consumers.

 

The complaints for over­charging can be lodged over hotline 1535 of the call centre of the Consumers Affairs Depart­ment, or sent to the Facebook page of the department and the region and state departments concerned.

 

The domestic consumption of palm oil is estimated at one million tonnes per year. The lo­cal palm oil production is just about 400,000 tonnes. About 700,000 tonnes of palm oil are imported through Malaysia and Indonesia to meet domestic de­mands. — NN/KK