Efforts by Thailand’s palm oil farmers, extractors, and producers to cap the price of bottled palm oil at 64-66 baht per litre have proved fruitless. The price has now skyrocketed to 70-76 baht in some markets, according to a survey by Thai PBS. The survey says that in department stores, the price is 68 baht per litre or lower.
Palm oil producers claim the price should be even more expensive, 77-78 baht, because of the high production costs. A grocery store owner told Thai PBS that she had to up her retail price because the wholesale price for a pack of 12 bottles is about 800 baht, and if she sold them for 70 baht each, she would only make about 3 baht per bottle.
There has been a palm oil shortage in Indonesia for the past month since the Russia-Ukraine crisis has impacted the supply of vegetable oil in the country, making palm oil more expensive. Indonesia is the world’s largest palm oil exporter. Palm oil is only grown in the tropics, and is by far the most consumed and traded edible oil in the world.
It’s estimated that, when walking into a convenience store in Asia, almost 50% of the products would involve palm oil in their manufacture or are an actual ingredient.
The palm oil crisis has plunged much of the world into a conundrum. Now that palm oil prices have skyrocketed, prices of other vegetable oils have now gone up as well, such as soybean and sunflower oil.
SOURCE: Thai PBS World