KUALA LUMPUR, June 22 — The subsidy for cooking oil in plastic packets will still be maintained by the government, and only that for bottled cooking oil will be removed, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob today.

He said that the government is currently subsidising 60,000 metric tonnes of cooking oil, far above the total national consumption at 55,000 metric tonnes since 2007.

"The government has until now spent RM4 billion, far above the RM550 million in 2020 and RM2.5 billion in 2021.

"A packet of cooking oil retails at RM2.50 per kilogram as opposed to its actual price of RM9 per kilogram,” he said in a special televised announcement today.

As for bottled cooking oil, Ismail Sabri said the government only started subsidising it in August 2021 as a measure to help the people during the pandemic, but it was exploited by smugglers which made it not worth the effort.

"But the smuggling of bottled cooking oil occurred. That is why the government is no longer continuing with bottled cooking oil subsidies,” he added.

Yesterday, the government announced the removal of the ceiling price for chicken and chicken eggs, as well as subsidies for cooking oil in bottles of 2kg, 3kg and 5kg, from July 1.

This was to ensure adequate food supply in the market and to stabilise prices in the longer term, said the Domestic Trade and Consumers Affairs Ministry in a statement.