Retailers in Kedah are facing a shortage of cooking oil supply for a month now to the extent of having to limit sales to their customers.

Checks by Bernama found several retailers in Alor Setar forced to sell only one or two kilogrammes of cooking oil to each customer to ensure their stocks do not run out.

Sundry shop operator Zulkifli Nyak Bakar, 47, said he had no choice but to limit sales to his customers so that everyone could get cooking oil.

He said he could not get enough supply as the wholesaler had limited supply for each retailer to 100 kg for a one-week period.

“When I’ve run out of cooking oil, I have to buy the item from other retailers at the market price of RM2.50 per kg to meet the demand from my customers, especially during this school holidays.

State Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism director Mohd Sakri Saleh said the shortage of cooking oil supply was due to the high demand for the many wedding feasts held during this holiday season.

“Consumers should not be unduly worried as the cooking oil supply is expected to return to normal in early January,” he told a news conference in Alor Setar today.

He said integrated operations were aso being carried out to combat smuggling of the subsidised commodity by syndicates to neighbouring countries so as to avoid a serious shortage.

- Bernama