Industry and Commerce minister Sekai Nzenza has blamed the recent hike in the price of cooking oil by local retailers on rising prices of crude oil on the international market.
Speaking to ZBC News, Nzenza asserted that since Zimbabwe needs foreign currency for importation therefore the price of cooking oil naturally goes up. She said:
The reason why [the price of] cooking oil has gone up… we tracked that it’s caused by prices on the international market, on the price of crude oil.
We are importing this crude oil and that requires foreign currency and as a result, there is a there is an impact on the price of cooking oil.
An online source, defines the concept as a naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum product composed of hydrocarbon deposits and other organic materials. It is a type of fossil fuel that can be refined to produce usable products such as gasoline, diesel, and various other forms of petrochemicals.
However, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana defended Nzenza’s use of the term in relation to cooking oil. Mangwana said via Twitter:
As a matter of fact, Minister Nzenza is correct. Zimbabwe gets crushed soya from Argentina which is processed by Zimbabwean cooking oil pressers. That crushed soya is called “crude oil”. There is a labour action in Argentina affecting supply & price of this crude oil.
Meanwhile, a handbook from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) has for long now been using the concept as its tariff code for those ingredients.
Watch Nzenza speak: