KUALA LUMPUR: Cooking oil has become scarce and more people are seeking to stock up on the item before subsidies are lifted on July 1.
Apart from consumers emptying the shelves, retailers were also in a bind as they had been unable to keep up with demand.
Checks over the past week had found that the 1kg polybag cooking oil, hugely popular due to its cheap price, had virtually disappeared from supermarket shelves, snapped up mostly by small-time traders and low-income families.
Further checks yesterday, however, showed that even the 3kg and 5kg bottles of cooking oil were out of stock in a number of retail outlets. A similar shortage was also seen in the 1kg and 2kg bottle cooking oil.
A supermarket staff, Azri Amir Zakee, 27, said the items were usually snapped up as soon as they were put on the shelves,
"Mere moments after the government's announcement on the removal of subsidies for bottled cooking oil, people came in droves to buy them.
"The 1kg polybag cooking oil was sold out due to panic-buying, while the 5kg bottle cooking oil is almost out of stock," he said.
Amirul Mad Nor, a mini market store manager in Cheras, said his outlet was facing difficulty in keeping up with consumer demand.
The reduction in supply, he said, was making it almost impossible to keep the shelves full.
"Although we restock every Tuesday and Saturday, it is still not enough to meet the current demand," he said.
"Some people will buy cooking oil in big quantities if it's a brand that they prefer," he added.
One customer named Khairul Manah, 48, said that cooking oil was a basic need.
"Even if we reduce the purchase of cooking oil after July 1, we still need it. It's just unavoidable.
"Prices of other items have also increased. I remember that I bought wheat flour for RM2.65 previously. Now, it costs RM4.40.
"But right now, cooking oil is the most difficult item to get due to most mini markets nearby having stocks sold out," he said.
In George Town, Penang, consumers and traders have voiced concern over the difficulty in sourcing for the 1kg polybag cooking oil.
Fried chicken seller Mohd Hafis Yasak, 37, said he used an average of 5kg of cooking oil a day.
He was now having trouble breaking even as he had to buy the more expensive bottled cooking oil.
"Whenever my friends tell me of a place which sells polybag cooking oil, I'd immediately rush to check.
"But usually, they would be sold out by the time I arrive. This has happened many times," said the 37-year-old, who runs his stall in Jalan Sungai Dua.
Grocery stall owner Hameeda Kader Nagor, 62, said she has had to limit the sale of the polybag cooking oil to her regular customers.
"Like today, for example. I had fewer than 10 packets of cooking oil left. I have to limit each customer to only two or three bags, based on their needs.
"We used to get around 100 packets a week from suppliers. Now, it's half of that," said Hameeda, who has been operating from the Jalan Kedah flats for the last 30 years.
Her husband, Muhammad Sultan 66, said some desperate customers even offered to pay up to RM4 for the subsidised cooking oil. However, he declined to sell them at the price as it would amount to profiteering.