PRICES of edible oil have increased by at least 20 percent from Monday at several city supermarkets.
A 5-liter bottle of Arawana brand blended oil at Vanguard Supermarket now costs 64.9 yuan (US$9.77), an increase of about 20 percent, yesterday s Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.
A 5-liter bottle of Orchid brand peanut oil rose from 86 yuan to 101 yuan.
Most edible oil producers increased their prices Monday, an unidentified manager at Carrefour Supermarket told the Daily.
According to one edible oil factory, the price hike followed sharp increases in the prices of commodities such as soybeans and peanuts. The average price of imported soybeans had increased by about 18 percent since July, the newspaper said.
The Central Government planned to sell 300,000 tons of edible oil held in storage to help keep prices down. It would be the largest amount of stored edible oil placed on the market this year, the newspaper said.
(Wang Yuanyuan)
