The National Assembly committee on trade and industry has said it will engage the ministry of trade and other stakeholders in the edible oils sub-sector in an effort to address the escalating prices of cooking oil.
This decision was arrived at by the committee during a meeting with a group of edible oil manufacturers in the country. The meeting was chaired by vice-chairperson, Marianne Kitany.
The manufacturers, led by Vimal Shah, the chairman of Bidco Africa Limited in their submission said the price of edible oils is expected to rise further due to high cost of production.
Shah emphasized the lack of government incentives for local manufacturers, noting that the state has only focused on giving incentives to international firms.
He observed that this imbalance forces local manufacturers to pass the high production costs onto consumers.
He was accompanied by KAPA Oil chief executive officer Nitin Shah, director of Pwani Oil Products, Rajan Malde, and managing director of Golden Africa Kenya, Fathi Saeed, all of whom raised concerns about the high taxes contributing to the increased costs of production.
Kitany acknowledged the concerns raised by the manufacturers and stressed the importance of supporting home-grown industries within the multi-billion-shilling sector.
“We have noted with concern the plight of the manufacturers of edible oil in the country, a key sub-sector that employs over 10,000 people,” said Kitany who is also the Aldai MP.
Kitany added that the committee had established that there is a disconnect between the manufacturers and the government.
“We have established that there is a serious disconnect between the manufacturers of edible oil and the government. As a result, we will convene a round-table with Ministry officials and other stakeholders to find ways of reducing the cost of production of cooking oil,” she said.
