Thailand's cooking oil shortage

[Spitfire]

Don't know if anyone down HH has noticed but there seems to be a lack of cooking oil (palm oil) around, didn't notice it myself until I went into Tesco and 7-11 last Friday where I am as the Mrs asked me to pick some up and the shelves where empty, zero, ziltch, not a bottle anywhere. Eventually found a couple of small bottles from a local 'Mom n Pop' shop.

Seems to be a stortage all over the show.

This from The Nation on it..........admittedly a few days old though.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/Ac ... 49025.html

[ste860]

there has been a shortage for a few weeks now,makro were limiting to 3 bottles with a security guard checking a couple of weeks ago,and barrys chippy was closed last week due to no oil

[poosmate]

Just back from Makro. In front of me at the checkout was a guy buying 24 cases of cheap ( 47 Baht ) Palm oil. The guys were getting pallets out and there were queues waiting to grab them.
I bought the more expensive sunflower oil which I prefer. 75 Baht - no queue and loads.

[moja]

Just back from Bangkok and in Tops there was a sign saying oil was limited to one bottle per person and that all offers had been suspended until further notice.

[Khundon1975]

A disgusting product, with devastating consequences on wildlife and the rain forest habitats they rely on. Shame on the International companies, who have conned third World countries into growing the stuff.

http://www.independent.co.uk/environmen ... 76218.html

[PeteC]

Just back from Makro. In front of me at the checkout was a guy buying 24 cases of cheap ( 47 Baht ) Palm oil. The guys were getting pallets out and there were queues waiting to grab them.
I bought the more expensive sunflower oil which I prefer. 75 Baht - no queue and loads.

Therein lies the problem I think. The price was considerably below 47 baht before this alleged shortage, raising accusations that price fixing and hording by the manufacturers is taking place. Pete

[Nereus]

In praise of food - boiled and steamed

posting.php?mode=reply&f=18&t=17369

The shortage of cooking oil - a strange phenomenon since Thailand is one of the largest producers of palm oil in the world - has led to accusations of hoarding by refiners, distributors and retailers, as well as corruption by politicians who are allegedly facilitating the shortage in exchange for funds they will need for the upcoming elections.

Buried under the din of accusations was a comment made by former prime minister Chuan Leekpai, who said that perhaps it is high time for us to start eating more boiled and steamed food.

For that, Mr Chuan has been mercilessly ridiculed by some commentators. I am no friend of politicians, but I was deeply offended by the thoughtlessness of those commentators.

It should be common knowledge that eating boiled and steamed food is more healthy than eating fried food, as cooking oil in general adds not only empty calories but also artery-clogging cholesterol.

Besides, if Thais were to switch en masse to eating less fried food, more palm oil would be left for other uses, such as making bio-diesel or exporting for hard currency. Instead of ridiculing Mr Chuan, those commentators should have suggested that we Thais use the cooking oil shortage as an opportunity to make a marked change in our eating habits. It would be good for our health, physical as well as fiscal, good for the health of the Thai economy, and good for the health of the planet.

On the subject of food and health - ours, the economy's and the planet's - I would suggest also that Thais eat less rice and rice products, especially noodles, and eat more of rice substitutes.

No, I have not gone mad for making such an outlandish suggestion, as I know fully well that for Thais, life without rice would be unthinkable.

But it can be done and should be done, as I have for many years - in addition to regularly choosing boiled and steamed food over fried food.

By substituting other staples - sweet corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, taro and plantains - for rice, we would definitely save water and energy. Compared to other crops, rice takes many times more water to grow. Rice, therefore, is suitable for flooded fields and should be the main crop planted in the rainy season. During the dry months, other crops are more suitable. Of course, farmers will not plant more of other crops unless the demand for them are there.

Rice also requires more energy because it takes more steps to be made ready to eat - preparing the field, planting the crop, harvesting, milling, and cooking. In the case of other food crops, no milling is required. As for bananas, even cooking is not needed. Rice, of course, contains more calories than the said substitutes, making it more suitable for those whose work requires long hours of physical exertion. For the same reason, weight-watchers who need fewer calories should switch to other food items.

White rice should be eaten even less, as it uses up additional energy for removing the nutrient-rich bran, leaving it with only calorie-laden starch.

My suggestion is to eat as many of the substitutes as possible, and in rotation, so that we have a better chance of meeting our vitamin and mineral requirements, as each contains a different set of nutrients.

As regards rice products, my apologies go to fellow Thais as well as to the 1.5 billion Chinese, Japanese and Koreans who regularly eat rice noodles. But you are using a lot more energy and thus contributing to global warming unnecessarily. This is because to become steaming noodles in front of you, after milling, the rice has to be made into flour, then into noodles, which need to be cooked once more before serving.

Lest I be accused of favouritism, I should point out to friends in the Western world that by eating pasta and bread, you spend much more energy than eating other simply cooked staples such as baked and boiled potatoes and yams.

By making these suggestions, I realise that I will likely be ridiculed not only by those who ridiculed Mr Chuan but also by other smart people. Be that as it may, my firm belief shall remain: with the number of people on this planet reaching 7 billion and counting, the water and energy shortages becoming more severe, and the global warming creating more havoc, urgent changes in eating habits along the lines I have suggested will make a significant difference.

[Spitfire]

Yes Nereus, could be right there and the attacks on the ex PM don't surprise me at all as found this on the BBK Post today and backs up the idea that 'skull-duggery' may have a hand in all this.

Seems the manufacturers want the government to OK a 19 baht increase on a one-litre-bottle of the soy bean oil. Bet the shortage will magically disappear if that is OKed imo.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/eco ... price-rise

[Nereus]

Govt insists 'no palm oil shortage'

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2 ... l-shortage

People should stop being concerned about another palm cooking oil shortage as the supply is now sufficient and the price will not go up again, Commerce Ministry permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach said on Thursday.

"The public and small sellers fear that there will be another palm cooking oil shortage so they rush to buy cooking palm oil, but the Commerce Ministry would like to assure them that domestic palm oil production and the 45,000 tonnes of palm oil imports are adequate," Mr Yanyong said.

He said an additional 90,000 tonnes of palm oil would be imported if the initial 45,000 tonnes are not enough. More of the oil palm harvest will also enter the market by the end of this month.

There will be no shortage and the price will not exceed 47 baht a litre, he said.

As for the soybean oil shortage, Mr Yanyong said the problem arose after people turned to buy soybean oil during the palm oil shortage, despite an increase in production and distribution of soy oil.

The ministry had not approved manufacturers' request to raise the price of soybean oil from 46 baht to 65 baht a litre, he added.