ALOR STAR: The Consumers Association of Kedah (Cake) today lauded the move to adjust the retail price of unsubsidised cooking oil according to Crude Palm Oil (CPO) price movements.
Its president, Muhammad Yusrizal Yusoff, said the decision should be implemented as soon as possible so that consumers could benefit from the recent downward trend of global CPO prices.
"On behalf of consumers, Cake welcomes the government announcement that retail price of bottled cooking oil will be set according to the CPO price movement.
"We hope the price adjustment will be implemented as soon as possible, so that the consumers can benefit from the lower CPO prices," he told the New Straits Times.
Rizal said the move was necessary as the current retail prices did not reflect the lower CPO prices.
"Cake has been getting many complaints from consumers who are burdened by the significant spike of bottled cooking oil price since early this month, following the government's decision to withdraw its subsidy.
"Hence, since the price of CPO has been going down, it is only fair to consumers to enjoy a lower retail price for unsubsidised cooking oil," he said.
Rizal was commenting on Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi's announcement yesterday that the price of the cooking oil sold in the market should be adjusted from time to time.
He was reported as saying that the price of bottled cooking oil is expected to fluctuate according to CPO prices that have dropped significantly compared with two weeks ago.
The prices of raw cooking oil had dipped from RM7,000 per metric tonne to RM3,600 per metric tonne this week.
The government initially implemented temporary subsidies for the 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg bottled cooking oil in August last year, but removed it for bottled cooking oil earlier this month, resulting in a spike in prices.
However, the government maintained its subsidy for the 1kg cooking oil in polybags to keep the retail price of RM2.50 per kg.
On July 5, the NST reported about Cake calling for manufacturers to make public the mechanism they use to decide on the retail price of unsubsidised cooking oil.
Rizal was reported as saying the move was necessary to be fair to consumers to prevent profiteering following the sharp increase of bottled cooking oil prices after the subsidy withdrawal.
The retail price of bottled cooking oil had jumped from below RM30 for a 5kg packaging to over RM42 each.