MoC sells over 2,000 tonnes of palm oil at fairer prices on past three days

The Ministry of Commerce reportedly sold more than 2,000 tonnes of palm oil at fair prices on the past three days (20-22 September), in coordination with Myanmar Oil Dealers’ Association.
The volume of palm oil that was sold between 20 and 22 September is equivalent to the amount that the oil importers directly purchased the foreign currency from the Central Bank of Myanmar. The MoC sold a total of 1,230,350 viss (2,010 tonnes) of palm oil, with 768,350 viss (1,255 tonnes) in Yangon Region, 462,000 viss (755 tonnes) in Mandalay, Magway, Sagaing and Bago regions and Shan State.
This scheme will proceed to other regions and states. The wholesalers and retailers must also resell them to the consumers with a gross profit of less than 2 per cent.
Under the plan of the association, palm oil is sold with the mobile market trucks.
Those wholesalers and retailers who want to buy them can come and buy at the association’s office located at No 104/108 on Strand Road, Ahlon Township through the contact numbers 09444437295 and 09401527049 of the association and 01250270 and 0943666668 of the Yangon Region Consumer Affairs Department.
At present, the price of palm oil hit a peak of above K4,300 per viss (a viss equals 1.6 kilogrammes) in the market, the association stated.
On 1 July 2021, palm oil was priced only K3,200 per viss, whereas it soared to K4,300 per viss on 27 September. The figure reflects an increase of over K1,000 per viss over the past two months.
The price hike is attributed to the depreciation of the local currency in the forex market, traders stressed.
Additionally, the association notified the consumers not to worry over the supply of the edible oil on 15 July.
The association is also making concerted efforts with the organizations concerned and the related departments to secure the edible oil sufficiency and offer a reasonable price to the consumers as per the statement.
The association is trying not to occur unnecessary issues regarding edible oil amid the global pandemic impacts.
Myanmar Oil Dealers’ Association is attempting to maintain price stability, prevent market manipulation, import palm oil from foreign countries sustainably for self-sufficiency and distribute the edible oil at a fair price to the consumers.
The domestic consumption of edible oil is estimated at 1 million tonnes per year. The local cooking oil production is just about 400,000 tonnes. To meet the self-sufficiency in the domestic market, about 700,000 tonnes of cooking oil are yearly imported. — NN/GNLM