‘Soaring cooking oil prices eat into restaurant profits’
UKRAINE WAR HITS SUPPLIES TO RETAILERS AND SUPERMARKETS
SHOP and restaurant bosses have spoken of the devastating impact the global cooking oil shortage is having on their business.
The war in Ukraine has hit supplies of sunflower oil to the UK leading to some retailers and supermarkets introducing limits on the number of bottles that customers can buy.
The cost of sunflower oil has risen by nearly a fifth over the past year to £1.34 per litre, according to recent figures by NielsenIQ Scantrack, and exports from Russia and Ukraine account for 55 per cent of the global supply.
The Federation of Independent Retailers said it is “fully aware of the shortage of cooking oil available from wholesalers and that this is causing concern among convenience retailers.”
Hussan Lal, who owns a store in Paisley, Scotland, told Eastern Eye: “The shortage of cooking oil is definitely having an effect, both in terms of retailers’ profits and our customers’ needs. The cash and carries have introduced a limit of two cases of oil per customer. It’s become so bad we are having to shop around ourselves to try and keep our customers supplied.”
It comes amid the cost of living crisis with businesses struggling with rising energy bills, which are set to increase further in October, and inflated food prices.
In the four weeks to April 17, sales of cooking oils were up by nearly a fifth, data from market analysts Kantar found. And demand for vegetable oil was up by 40 per cent.
Ruhul Tarafder, who runs takeaway Jhal Chilli in Kent and supplies products to the hospitality industry, told Eastern Eye: “Before you were paying £17 for a 20-litre container of oil, now it is £35 at the cash and carry.
“With the price of chicken and containers going up, it is having a major impact on the profits of restaurants and takeaways. Restaurants are having to buy it in supermarkets, which sell sunflower oil which is thinner and not ideal to use in Indian cooking.
“That’s why we are seeing the shortages, while some are using less oil in their food.”
Manju Malhi BEM, a chef and food author, has urged people and businesses not to stockpile oil because it eventually becomes rancid. She said: “If you’re cooking a dish which requires oil, try and measure your oil before you add to the pan.
“You could invest in some measuring spoons or use an olive oil spray to line a non stick pan or to baste your ingredients.
“Instead of using vegetable oil or sunflower oil, try and experiment with rapeseed, groundnut or even olive oil. Avocado oil is good too but can be expensive or you could use butter or ghee instead of margarine.
“Also don’t deep fry every day, sauté your ingredients which means lightly frying in little oil.”
Police warned shopkeepers in May about the risk of cooking oil bottles being stolen by thieves.
Humberside Police in Yorkshire urged retailers to store containers out of public view, operate CCTV, motion sensors and alarms along with lockable storage units and consider forensic marking of containers. The force said officers will visit premises to offer specialist advice, adding: “You may wish to consider this [measures] if you are the victim of a high number of thefts.”
Tom Holder, a spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, told this newspaper: “The war in Ukraine has disrupted supplies of sunflower oil to the UK.
“Where sunflower oil exists as an ingredient in products, retailers will be substituting it with other safe oils, such as rapeseed oil.
“Retailers are also working with suppliers to ramp up production of alternative cooking oils, to minimise the impact on consumers.”