New cooking oil distribution system implemented amidst import challenges

During December 2023, ed­ible oil imported from abroad is being distributed and sold in major states and regions. Yan­gon, Mandalay, and Ayeyawady regions can purchase the highest quantity of palm oil.

 

For this month (December 2023), 42,000 tonnes of oil are ex­pected for distribution and sale, with 16,000 tonnes allocated for Yangon Region, 7,000 tonnes for Mandalay Region, and 4,000 tonnes for Ayeyawady Region, ac­cording to information from the Myanmar Edible Oil Association.

 

On 4 December 2023, the targeted 42,000 tonnes of palm oil for one month allowed the three densely populated regions to purchase more than half of the targeted tonnes, distributed domestically through the new system. Pathein District in the delta region also has the highest rights to purchase and distribute palm oil.

 

According to the targeted distribution amount for eight districts in Ayeyawady, districts like Pathein, Pyapon, and Maubin received about 500 drums for the day, where the daily number of drums is 950.

 

U Aung, a seller of edible oil in Mawgyun, told The Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM) that previously, the 18-litre can oil price was K80,000 and K76,000 without the value of the can.

 

As per reports, the whole­sale reference price of palm oil was only K4,920 per viss from 4 to 10 December, a decrease of K80 per viss compared to the previous week.

 

From 28 November to 6 December of this year (2023), 22,000 tonnes of oil will be im­ported from abroad, according to reports from the oil market in Yangon. Oil sellers from areas, including towns around Yangon, bought and sold oil from the Bayintnaung warehouse and Nyaungpinlay markets.

 

Districts can pick up directly from the Yangon oil tanks start­ing 4 December. Consequently, there will be fewer transactions to buy and sell oil from the oil sellers in Yangon’s Bayintnaung and Nyaungpinlay markets.

 

The demand will decrease in the 18-litre oil market, where the price is higher than the reference price by around K2,000 per litre if direct deliveries increase.

 

Tank oil can be stocked in the market more than in the previous period. There are also reviews in the oil market that if the oil storage in the oil market is legally accepted, the oil trade will return to normal, and there will be a possibility that oil production will exceed demand.

 

Only the oil market in Yan­gon has changed oil prices in the external oil market. According to a Yangon oil trader, the oil will be delivered directly from the Yangon oil storage tanks to the villages; therefore, the external oil market in Yangon will be less dependent on buyers of cooking oil from the villages, according to the new cooking oil distribution system. — TWA/TKO