MUKAH: Traders here are advised against buying cooking oil packed in 1kg polybags as it is not for commercial use.
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) Mukah chief Salihin Den said the cooking oil in polybag was for household use.
“The cooking oil is subsidised by the government and each customer is allowed to buy only three packets per transaction.
“Traders should not deprive the public, especially poor households, by buying the subsidised oil for commercial use.
“Instead, they should buy cooking oil packed in bottles or cans as there is no limit imposed on the transaction,” he said today.
Salihin said the public should not worry about the recent announcement to limit the purchase of cooking oil by KPDNHEP.
He assured that the ministry would monitor closely the supply just like any other essential goods.
Salihin said as of Thursday, there was enough supply here, adding that should more be needed, KPDNHEP would assist in providing for the market.
“We’ll allow dedicated retailers (DDR) to store supplies that exceed the current storage limit to make it easier for them to buy and store supplies in large quantities.”
Recently, KPDNHEP minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the 1kg cooking oil in polybag had been a controlled item since 2007 and was sold at RM2.50 per packet.
Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Hasnol Zam Zam Ahmad said there were two categories of cooking oil in the market — the 1kg packed in polybag and the one sold in bottles in which prices were determined by supply and demand.
It is learnt that the price of cooking oil in bottles had gone up following the soaring prices of raw palm oil in the market since several months ago. The price of the commodity now is RM800 a tonne.
