KUALA LUMPUR (July 18): The government is targeting at least a 10% in the reduction of cooking oil retail price in the coming two weeks, following the fall in crude palm oil (CPO) price currently, according to Special Task Force on Jihad Against Inflation chairman Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
Annuar said the industry, including manufacturers, should work together to drop the price of cooking oil, as the price of unsubsidised cooking oil is still relatively high.
"We seek the cooperation of all manufacturers. In a week or two from now, we would like to see the price of cooking oil being reduced by at least 10% from the current retail price of about RM42 for a 5kg bottle.
"We hope they will do it, just as fast as they raised their prices when the market price shot up previously," Annuar, who is also the Minister of Communications and Multimdia, told reporters in Parliament on Monday.
He said some retailers have already implemented price reductions, according to reports received by his task force, but the move has not been embraced by all.
"We have agreed that the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs will engage with individual manufacturers to convey the message of our decision today that the committee is of the view that the next price reduction should be given priority and expedited," he said.
According to Bloomberg, the price of the CPO futures contract at the time of writing was trading 9.15% higher at RM3,887 per metric tonne, down from its recent peak of RM7,757 in April.
Annuar further noted that global inflation rates have not been very encouraging, with signs indicating that Malaysia's trading partner countries are experiencing high inflation rates. Hence, Malaysia needs to make preparations as the effects of inflation in other countries will also be felt here later.
As such, he said a team of economic experts will assist the task force in tackling the issue. The team has been given a month to prepare a comprehensive action plan that will help the task force come up with a more robust framework to address the impact of inflation and rising prices of goods in the country, he added.