THE wholesale reference rate of palm oil set for the Yangon market this week, ending 28 September, stayed the same at K6,610 per viss, like that of the previous week, according to the Supervisory Committee on Edi­ble Oil Import and Distribution.

The Supervisory Commit­tee on Edible Oil Import and Distribution under the Ministry of Commerce has been closely observing the FOB prices in Malaysia and Indonesia, add­ing transport costs, tariffs and banking services to decide the wholesale market refer­ence rate for edible oil weekly. Despite the reference price, the market price is way too high. To control overcharging, the Con­sumer Affairs Department un­der the Ministry of Commerce informed consumers of lodging complaints for overcharging through the call centre hotline in late August. The department urges consumers not to buy palm oil at high prices.

The complaints for over­charging can be lodged over hotline 1535 of the call centre of the Consumers Affairs Depart­ment, or sent to the Facebook page of the department and the region and state departments concerned.

The domestic palm oil con­sumption is estimated at one million tonnes per year. The lo­cal palm oil production is just about 400,000 tonnes. About 700,000 tonnes of palm oil are imported through Malaysia and Indonesia to meet domestic de­mands. — NN/KK