Over 2,700 tonnes of palm oil sold at half of market prices

By Admin 01 Sep 2023

DMG Newsroom
1 September 2023, Sittwe

The Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers Association will sell over 2,783 tonnes of palm oil in Yangon at the junta’s reference price of 4,400 kyats per viss.

The association and 15 palm oil importers have been selling oil at key wholesale centres in the commercial capital since August 28.

So far, retailers have sold over 5,030 barrels of palm oil, according to the Myanmar Oil Dealers Association.

“We are a wholesaler, and we sell without quota,” said U Kyaw Zin Oo, an edible oil seller at Bayintnaung commodity exchange.

The Myanmar regime formed a team tasked with stabilising cooking oil prices on August 28. The regime has told wholesalers not to charge more than 2 percent of the reference price set at 4,155 kyats.

Retailers are told not to charge more than 10 percent of the reference price.

“We sell at 4,400 kyats for both retail and wholesale, considering labour and transportation costs. The association has not yet instructed us about how long we will have to sell at the reference price. We will continue to sell at the reference price as long as we get our quota of cooking oil from the association,” said a retailer in Lanmadaw Township.

In the market, the retail price is 11,000 kyats per viss, and the price fell to 9,000 kyats after the oil dealers association started to sell oil at the junta’s reference price.

Long queues have formed at wholesalers and retailers that sell at the junta’s reference price in Yangon.

“This has given us breathing space as soaring food prices have been taking a toll on us,” said Daw Ma Ni from Hline Township.

The regime recently said it would take measures to significantly bring down palm oil prices within a few days.

The prices of basic foods including staple foods like rice have soared amid wider post-coup political and economic turmoil in Myanmar.