Customers purchasing cooking oil will find they have to spend a considerable amount more than usual, with prices rising to as much as $8.99 (£7.16) per two-litre bottle, as a result of a limited access to raw materials.
Personal care, hygiene and value agro-products producer in Zimbabwe United Refineries Limited (URL) has admitted it has had to increase the cost of cooking oil beyond the recommended retail price of $3.50 for two litres.
Its chief executive officer (CEO) Busisa Moyo stated poor access to raw materials and a shortage of foreign currency are the reasons behind this price increase, Nehandaradio.com reported.
He also said the toll processing of crude oil is also affecting the business, which had to close its soap plant in October 2018 for the first time in six years.
“We have free fund holders who are toll processing crude oil and will charge at alternative market rates for products and finally for the main raw materials of crude soya bean oil,” Mr Moyo commented.
He added that URL is only being given between 25 and 30 per cent of its capacity, which means it cannot recover overheads at lower prices.
The CEO said the solution to helping the company and cooking oil processing is to grow more cotton and soya bean seeds from the farming community in Zimbabwe. He also asked for the Reserve Bank to provide $3 million to URL every month.
URL is not the only company trying to find an alternative to oil processing, and Let’s Recycle recently revealed more and more businesses are trying to recycle plastics into oil. Using Thermal Anaerobic Technology, Plastic Energy claims it can produce TACOIL.