KUCHING, Nov 16: Subsided cooking oil in 1kg polybag packaging is meant for domestic household use and not for businesses, small traders and eatery operators.
The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (KPDNHEP) emphasised that the purchase limit for the 1kg polybag cooking oil in the market was to ensure more households can enjoy the subsidy provided by the government.
Its Enforcement Division director Azman Adam reminded that businesses, small traders and eatery operators using the cooking oil for sales purposes are not included in the target group of the subsidised cooking oil.
“Consumers are urged to abide by the purchase limit so that more households can benefit and traders are advised to abide by the instructions to ensure purchase is limited for domestic home usage,” he said in a statement today.
KPDNHEP raised this in response to news reports of shortages of the subsided 1kg polybag cooking oil in Penang following small traders’ complaints of difficulties in obtaining the product.
Following inspections conducted by KPDNHEP Penang on 23 packaging companies which supply a total of 3.434 million kilogrammes of the subsidised cooking oil or 3.4 million packets per month in Penang, Azman explained that supply was sufficient as there was no disruption in production and distribution to the market.
“However, the issue of lack of supply was raised due to the desire of businesses, small traders and eateries to make purchases in bulk or in large quantities,” he added.
He pointed out that a total of 1.9 million kgs of subsidised cooking oil in 1 kg polybag packets have been distributed to supermarkets and retailers for domestic household use throughout Penang with the remaining 1.5 million kgs to be distributed this month.
“For information, three of the 24 packaging companies are operating in Georgetown with a production quota of 247,000 kgs per month for domestic household use in the Northeast and Southwest districts of Penang.
“Apart from the three companies, other packaging companies operating in Seberang Perai, Penang also distribute the 1kg subsidised cooking oil to the same district,” he assured.
Azman said inspections and monitoring of the product will continue to be implemented to ensure supply is available in the market for domestic consumption and to ensure that there are no irregularities in production and distribution.
KPDNHEP also welcomes any queries from consumers to obtain accurate information on the supply of controlled goods in the market so as to avoid any panic buying. — DayakDaily
