Price of some cooking oil brands up by 60pct

The removal of cooking oil subsidies has resulted in some cooking oil producers raising price of their products by about 60 percent.

According to Sin Chew Daily, the 5kg bottle of Red Eagle brand cooking oil was increased from RM14.70 to RM23.70 - a RM9 increase or 61.2 percent.

The daily said that the price of Red Eagle's 1kg bottle increased by RM2.05 (57 percent increase) while its 2kg bottle increased by RM3.35 (46 percent increase).

Yee Lee Corporation Bhd, the manufacturer of the Red Eagle cooking oil, told the daily that the prices were determined by the price of palm oil.

"It looks like inflation, but in reality, it reflects the market price of palm oil," said Lim Kok Cheong, the executive chairperson Yee Lee Corporation Bhd.

The removal of cooking oil subsidies took effect today. Subsidies were completely removed for all types of cooking oil except the 1kg packet variety which retailed at RM2.50.

The idea behind this move was to ensure that subsidies reached their intended targets.-Mkini