By: Jeremiah Nutsugah and Gloria Amoh.
One of the food commodities experiencing a consistent increase day by day is cooking oil. Consequently, some market women at Mallam Market have raised concerns about the escalating prices of cooking oil, leading to reduced profits and customer losses.
In an interview with Aunty Cece, she lamented that the surge in fuel prices has contributed to the rise in cooking oil costs, especially during the Christmas season, resulting in minimal or no profit for her.
“I incur significant expenses transporting the cooking oil to the market before I can sell it. This creates a dilemma of whether to sell it at a lower price or to add a profit margin,” she explained.
Another vendor, Aunty Ama, echoed similar worries due to the decreased demand for cooking oil this festive season.
“People are not buying cooking oil as much as they did during last year’s festive season. When buyers hear the prices, they simply walk away because they cannot afford it, leading to a substantial loss of customers,” she elaborated.
Aunty Ama pleaded with the government to consider reducing fuel prices, consequently lowering the costs of cooking oil. She emphasised the need for support for local cooking oil producers in the country.
