COOKING OIL PRICES GO UP

By BUUMBA CHIMBULU PRICES of cooking oil have gone up due to the weakening of the exchange rate over time which has affected local manufactures, says Crushers and Edible Oils Refiners Association (CEDORA) Director, Aubrey Chibumba. Currently, a 2.5 litres of cooking oil is selling at over K100 while five litres is selling at over K200. Dr Chibumba explained that CEDORA members who were manufactures of cooking oil had no control over the increased prices as they were driven by the exchange rate which had weakened over time. “Of late, there had been a lot of interest in the debate about the high prices of cooking oil. Since cooking oil in Zambia is mainly produced by CEDORA members, we have tried to explain why the prices have increased. “However, despite the association proving that cooking oil is more expensive in countries like South Africa when compared to Zambia, some individuals have refused to accept this fact but instead want to import packed refined cooking oil on the basis that our locally produced cooking oil is expensive,” he said in a statement. Dr Chibumba said suggestions to import cooking oil from countries such as South Africa would not lower the prices of the commodity because of transportation and payment of taxes incurred through the process.  “The only reasons why cooking oil prices have increased is because of the exchange rate that has weakened over time and this is something that the Bank of Zambia is responsible for and the general increase in commodity prices all over the world, again something that is out of our control,” he said. Meanwhile, Dr Chibumba indicated the need to ensure that small-scale farmers had access to the best prices for their soya beans. CEDORA, he said, would work with stakeholders such as the Zambia National Framers Union to ensure that small-scale farmers are not paid below market prices for their crop simply because of the challenging market access. Currently, soya beans is trading between K9 to K12 per kilogramme compared to last season when the price closed at K5 per Kg. Over 300, 000 metric tonnes of soya beans is expected to be harvested this year. “This is the momentum that we need to sustain, the good soya beans prices currently prevailing on the market, if we are to get even more small scale farmers to cultivate soya beans and oil seeds in general. “As we speak, this year’s crop from small-scale farmers is expected to exceed the crop from commercial farmers for the first time. This has only been possible because small-scale farmers have noticed that crushers are paying good prices for the soya beans,” Dr Chibumba said.