War in Ukraine among Reasons for High Cooking Oil Prices
2022-04-29
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1Vegetable cooking oil prices rose around the world during the two years of the COVID-19 health crisis.
2Prices went even higher two months ago when Russia started a war with Ukraine.
3The two countries supply much of the world's sunflower oil.
4About half comes from Ukraine and 25 percent comes from Russia.
5The price increases are hurting people around the world who use oil to cook their food.
6Vegetable oils from corn, soybean and oil palm hit a record high price in February.
7The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said prices again rose by 23 percent in March.
8Food stores in Turkey are limiting the amount of oil families can purchase.
9In Istanbul, Mahsun Aktas is a food server and cook at a restaurant that sells seafood like fish, squid and mussels.
10He said the restaurant finally raised prices in April because oil became four times more costly than it was in 2019.
11He said the restaurant postponed raising prices for many years, hoping oil costs would fall.
12"But we saw there is no improvement," he said.
13But higher prices cause a problem: "the customer cannot afford it."
14Indonesia said it will soon stop exporting cooking oil.
15That means the international price of palm oil will rise again.
16The high cost of cooking oil is one reason for recent protests in the capital, Jakarta.
17A woman named Emiwati runs a small eating place in Jakarta.
18She needs 24 liters of oil each day to make her traditional beef and rice meal.
19She has been having trouble buying the oil she needs.
20She said she is not raising prices because she does not want to lose customers.
21But she is losing money. "I am sad," Emiwati said.
22Other people are trying new cooking methods.
23Glaudina Nyoni is from Harare, Zimbabwe.
24She was shopping at a food store and told a reporter that the cost of oil has gone up 100 percent over the last two months.
25"We will just have to boil everything now, the days of the frying pan are gone," she said.
26In Britain, Spain and Italy, stores have also limited the amount of oil customers can buy.
27In Kenya, the nation's main power company warned people about buying cooking oil on the street.
28The company said thieves were stealing liquid from power stations and selling it as cooking oil.
29If people use it, the company said, they will become sick.
30Yawar Khan owns an Indian restaurant in London.
31Khan said 20 liters of oil once cost $28. Now it is $49.
32But Khan said passing the higher cost on to customers will cause a "catastrophe."
33International companies like Unilever and Cargill are warning that prices for products that use oil, such as soap and mayonnaise, will go up.
34Other companies are trying to come up with new combinations so they can use less or different oils for their products.
35Food experts say there is a chance that prices will go down later in the year when farmers in the northern half of the world harvest their crops.
36But there is no guarantee, said Joseph Glauber of the International Food Policy Research Institute.
37Steve Mathews studies agriculture at Gro Intelligence, a research company.
38He said if Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to stop the war, there might be a short-term decline in prices.
39In the long term, Glauber said, the shortage might cause countries to change the amount of vegetable oils required to be mixed with fuel as a way to reduce pollution.
40In the U.S., for example, 42 percent of the soybean oil gets mixed into fuel.
41In Europe, the European Commission said it would support countries that decide to reduce the amount of vegetable oil that is used to make fuel for vehicles.
42Currently, however, restaurant owners from London to the southern U.S. state of Tennessee are worried that they might go out of business.
43Harry Niazi in London makes fried fish and potatoes, known as fish and chips - a popular British meal.
44"It's very, very scary," he said.
45In Tennessee, Christine Coronado makes fried foods at her restaurant called Jordan's Grab n' Go.
46She said she finally increased prices in April.
47"You hate to raise prices on people, but it's just that costs are so much higher than they were a couple of years ago," she said.
48I'm Dan Friedell.
1Vegetable cooking oil prices rose around the world during the two years of the COVID-19 health crisis. Prices went even higher two months ago when Russia started a war with Ukraine. 2The two countries supply much of the world's sunflower oil. About half comes from Ukraine and 25 percent comes from Russia. 3The price increases are hurting people around the world who use oil to cook their food. 4Vegetable oils from corn, soybean and oil palm hit a record high price in February. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said prices again rose by 23 percent in March. 5Food stores in Turkey are limiting the amount of oil families can purchase. 6In Istanbul, Mahsun Aktas is a food server and cook at a restaurant that sells seafood like fish, squid and mussels. He said the restaurant finally raised prices in April because oil became four times more costly than it was in 2019. 7He said the restaurant postponed raising prices for many years, hoping oil costs would fall. 8"But we saw there is no improvement," he said. But higher prices cause a problem: "the customer cannot afford it." 9Indonesia said it will soon stop exporting cooking oil. That means the international price of palm oil will rise again. The high cost of cooking oil is one reason for recent protests in the capital, Jakarta. 10A woman named Emiwati runs a small eating place in Jakarta. She needs 24 liters of oil each day to make her traditional beef and rice meal. She has been having trouble buying the oil she needs. She said she is not raising prices because she does not want to lose customers. But she is losing money. "I am sad," Emiwati said. 11Other people are trying new cooking methods. 12Glaudina Nyoni is from Harare, Zimbabwe. She was shopping at a food store and told a reporter that the cost of oil has gone up 100 percent over the last two months. 13"We will just have to boil everything now, the days of the frying pan are gone," she said. 14In Britain, Spain and Italy, stores have also limited the amount of oil customers can buy. 15In Kenya, the nation's main power company warned people about buying cooking oil on the street. The company said thieves were stealing liquid from power stations and selling it as cooking oil. If people use it, the company said, they will become sick. 16Yawar Khan owns an Indian restaurant in London. Khan said 20 liters of oil once cost $28. Now it is $49. But Khan said passing the higher cost on to customers will cause a "catastrophe." 17International companies like Unilever and Cargill are warning that prices for products that use oil, such as soap and mayonnaise, will go up. Other companies are trying to come up with new combinations so they can use less or different oils for their products. 18Food experts say there is a chance that prices will go down later in the year when farmers in the northern half of the world harvest their crops. But there is no guarantee, said Joseph Glauber of the International Food Policy Research Institute. 19Steve Mathews studies agriculture at Gro Intelligence, a research company. He said if Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement to stop the war, there might be a short-term decline in prices. 20In the long term, Glauber said, the shortage might cause countries to change the amount of vegetable oils required to be mixed with fuel as a way to reduce pollution. In the U.S., for example, 42 percent of the soybean oil gets mixed into fuel. In Europe, the European Commission said it would support countries that decide to reduce the amount of vegetable oil that is used to make fuel for vehicles. 21Currently, however, restaurant owners from London to the southern U.S. state of Tennessee are worried that they might go out of business. 22Harry Niazi in London makes fried fish and potatoes, known as fish and chips - a popular British meal. "It's very, very scary," he said. 23In Tennessee, Christine Coronado makes fried foods at her restaurant called Jordan's Grab n' Go. She said she finally increased prices in April. 24"You hate to raise prices on people, but it's just that costs are so much higher than they were a couple of years ago," she said. 25I'm Dan Friedell. 26Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. 27Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 28Words in This Story 29customer - n. a person or group that buys a good or service 30afford -v. to be able to pay for something 31fry - v. to cook a food in hot oil 32catastrophe- n. a terrible disaster; an extremely bad event 33soap - n. a material used for washing things 34mayonnaise - n. a food product added to other foods like salads or sandwiches made from eggs and vegetable oil 35decline - n. a decrease