Cooking oil to be sold at reduced prices in Arakan State: Consumer Affairs official

By DMG 30 Aug 2022

DMG Newsroom
30 August 2022, Sittwe 

The Arakan State Consumer Affairs Department is reportedly taking steps to sell cooking oil at reduced prices as soaring commodity and fuel costs continue to strain household budgets in one of Myanmar’s poorest regions. 

Director U Tin Zaw Tun said his department has asked authorities to arrange for the sale of cooking oil at a price lower than the prevailing market rates in Arakan State’s 17 townships. 

Under the arrangement of Myanmar’s military regime, licensed oil dealers in some regions and states including Yangon sell palm oil at a fixed price of K5,000 per viss, while the price in markets is around K13,000 per viss. 

“The Arakan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry has asked authorities to also allocate a quota for Arakan State so that cooking oil can be sold at low prices,” said U Tin Zaw Tun. “A company has also submitted a proposal [to sell cooking oil to the public at low prices] to our department and the Arakan State government. So, we hope cooking oil can be sold at low prices soon in Arakan State.” 

U Myint Cho, chairman of the Supervisory Committee on Import, Storage and Distribution of Edible Oil under the Commerce Ministry, said the committee will make arrangements upon request from the Arakan State government. 

“If the concerned state government makes a request to supply edible oil, we will arrange for them,” he said. 

The Arakan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry has made a request to the Myanmar Edible Oil Dealers Association and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, according to the Arakan State-level chamber’s general secretary, U Aung Aung. 

Currently, cooking oil suppliers in Arakan State are supplied by wholesalers from Bayintnaung wholesale centre in the commercial capital Yangon, and have to pay higher prices.  

“We have to pay double the reference prices of the government. What’s more, we can’t always buy the amount we need,” said cooking oil supplier U Hla Maung Thein from the Arakan State capital Sittwe. 

When Arakan State faced cooking oil shortages in November of last year, the Arakan State Chamber of Commerce and Industry joined hands with the regime’s Arakan State military council to buy about 40,000 viss of palm oil from Yangon to be sold to consumers at reduced prices.