Hard on the heels of price increases for pork, flour and dairy products, consumers are about to pay more for another kitchen staple: cooking oil.
The Edible Oil Association says rising demand and increasing use of vegetable oil crops to make fuel are among factors likely to lead to an increase, possibly after Lunar New Year.
In a statement yesterday it advised customers to stock up at present prices 'sooner rather than later'.
Part of the demand is coming from bargain-hunting mainlanders who stock up during visits.
'The cooking oil prices are attractive because they are cheaper than the mainland and most of them are certified with the 'Q-mark', a certificate for Hong Kong-made products of good quality,' association chairman Francis Sze Chi-keung said.
He said crops used to make cooking oil were also being used to make bio-diesel in some countries, creating a shortfall in supply and pushing up the price.
