Palm oil prices will drop from January, say Surat Thani farmers
Cooking oil prices have risen temporarily due to reduced supply, but the Commerce Ministry says it is working to keep prices stable and is encouraging consumers to opt for alternatives
Oil palm growers in Surat Thani recently assured a senior Commerce Ministry official that the price of cooking palm oil will drop in January once the fruit yield returns to normal.
Witthayakorn Maneenetr, an inspector-general with the Commerce Ministry, spoke to reporters while visiting a plant for extracting palm oil in Surat Thani. He also visited a company that buys oil palm fruit as well as an oil palm plantation nearby.
Witthayakorn said he spoke to representatives of the three sides and learned that the price of cooking oil made from palm oil would rise due to dwindling yields of palm fruit.
However, he said, the situation is short-term and will return to normalcy in January when more palm fruit is ready for harvesting.
The Commerce Ministry reported that as of November 1, a one-litre bottle of palm cooking oil retails for between 45 and 55 baht. However, manufacturers will raise the price by 10 baht per bottle once current stocks deplete, the ministry said.
Witthayakorn added that the ministry will ensure that retail stores sell cooking oil at old prices if the stocks were produced in August or September.
He said the ministry will also encourage consumers to opt for soybean cooking oil as an alternative and will try to intervene by selling cheaper palm-based cooking oil at blue-flag stores nationwide.
