September 20

THE wholesale reference rate of palm oil in the Yangon market went down again to K4,690 per viss, 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 including transport costs, tariffs and banking services, and issuing the wholesale market reference rate for edible oil on a weekly basis.

The reference rate of palm oil in the Yangon market for a week from 19 to 25 September is set at K4,690 per viss, whereas the reference price for a week ending 18 September was set high at K4,730 per viss. The figures this week showed a small decrease of about K40 per viss compared to that of last week.

Despite the reference price, the current market price is still rocketing.

If the retailers and wholesalers are found overcharging, storing inventory intentionally and attempting unscrupulous action to manipulate the market, they will face legal action under the Special Goods Tax Law, MoC released a statement.

The Ministry of Commerce is striving for consumers not to worry over the supply of edible oil. The ministry is also trying to ensure edible oil sufficiency, supervise the market to offer reasonable prices to consumers and maintain price stability.

At present, mobile market trucks operated by oil importing companies, in coordination with the Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers’ Association, were back to business in some townships on 17 July in order to offer palm oil at subsidized rates. They sell palm oil at K4,850 per viss to consumers directly. However, there are limited sources of supply although they directly sell the palm oil at a reference rate depending on the volume quota.

The domestic consumption of edible oil is estimated at one million tonnes per year. The local cooking oil production is just about 400,000 tonnes. To meet the oil sufficiency in the domestic market, about 700,000 tonnes of cooking oil are yearly imported from Malaysia and Indonesia. — NN/GNLM