With cooking and vegetable oil prices on the rise, consumers are mirroring the start of the first hard lockdown with excessive panic buying before prices can increase further. The increase in prices has not only affected consumers but also suppliers and businesses who have had to increase their prices on oil as well as limit customers on how many bottles they may purchase in order to ensure that there is enough supply for everyone.
In just a week, the oil prices increased from R159 for a five-litre bottle to almost R200, with expectations for it increase further in the coming days if the markets do not pick up as a result of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War.
Checkmart Supermarket in Overport has had to limit sales to four bottles per customer, however, branch manager, Dave Nukanna, said they have seen an increase in demand, with customers looking to purchase up to 10 bottles each.
“In the past week, we have seen our regular customers buy more than they normally buy. As a store, we have decided to limit the customers to four bottles each, however, it’s difficult for us, especially with our regular clients who support us almost every day. As a business, our concern is ensuring that we please all our customers and keep them happy so that they will continue enjoying our service,” Nukanna said.
He said the demand is not only for cooking oil but also flour. “We have seen our customers who normally buy one bag of flour buying three and more, this is because our community has a lot of home industries and with the expected price increase, customers are scared that they will not afford to buy when the prices are really high.”
Nukanna said that with regard to flour, the store has increased prices and the customers can be rest assured that if they buy what they need there will be enough for everyone. “We do have a slight increase in oil prices, from R159 to R179,” he said.
He added that the most concerning factor is that Ramadaan is nearing and consumers will be using a lot of oil to make their dishes.
Andile Smanga runs a fast food business selling fried chips and vetkoeks and uses up to three litres of cooking oil on a daily basis. He said that with the price increase, he will now be forced to also increase his prices in order to make a profit.
“It’s really scary for us small business owners who barely make a profit because with every price increase we lose customers. The people that I service are mostly underpaid and cannot afford to buy luxury food, other than a vetkoek with chips, which costs them less than R10. Now with this increase I will have to charge at least R13 which amounts to the customers’ taxi fare to come to work. We are really living in hard times,” said Smanga.
Phetho Ntaba, Media Liaison Officer and Spokesperson for the National Consumer Commission, said that at the moment they cannot comment on the price increase or on whether there will be a shortage of supply or increased demand, however, Ntaba said with regard to how consumers are affected, she will only be in a position to comment once the public has laid official complaints to the commission.
“For us to give comment we need to receive complaints from the consumers and at this stage nothing official has been sent to us. We will only get involved once consumers say that prices were increased unfairly,” said Ntaba.
Attempts to speak to an oil refinery were made, however, at the time of going to print, no response to our queries had been received.
