Price hike in cooking oil attributed to international causes

The price of cooking oil has shot up in the domestic market in recent days. The price has increased more than Rs 50 per litre this year as compared to the price last year.

The Department of Commerce, Supplies and Protection of Consumer Interest had conducted monitoring at the oil industries after the increase in the price of cooking oil compared to the price of other foodstuff.

It carried out the monitoring at the oil industries based on the complaints of consumers. The Department had directed the Nepal Vegetable Ghee and Oil Producers Association to provide information regarding the reasons for increase in the price of cooking oil after conducting the monitoring.

Following this directive, the Association, which is the umbrella organisation of the cooking oil producers in the country, claimed that the cooking oil producers have not increased the price inappropriately.

The Association stated through a press release on Monday that the price of cooking has increased in Nepal as the price of raw materials has gone up in the international market.

"The 20 processed cooking oil producing industries affiliated to the Association have been regularly manufacturing their productions - soybean and sunflower oil – and supplying it to the market as well as exporting it to foreign countries," the Association said, adding that the main raw materials comprising of unprocessed soybean and sunflower oil, and mustard seeds that the industries needed, has to be, cent per cent, imported from Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Ukraine, among other countries.

The Association has clarified that the price of cooking oil in the Nepali market is determined in line with the price of the raw materials in the international market since they have to be imported from the international market.

There has been an unusual increase in the international market of the price of raw materials for cooking oil since 16 months and its impact has been seen in the Nepali market as well, the Association claimed.

The price of soybean oil was 614 USD per one metric tonne in March 2020 and it has reached to 1,279 USD in one year's period. Similarly, the price of sunflower oil which was 656 USD per metric tonne a year back has now reached 1,580 USD, the Association stated.