War in Ukraine among Reasons for High Cooking Oil Prices

War in Ukraine among Reasons for High Cooking Oil Prices

Vegetable cooking oil prices rose around the world during the two years of the COVID-19 health crisis¹. Prices went even higher two months ago when Russia started a war with Ukraine.

The two countries supply much of the world's sunflower oil. About half comes from Ukraine and 25 percent comes from Russia.

The price increases are hurting people around the world who use oil to cook their food.

Vegetable 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.

Food stores in Turkey are limiting the amount of oil families can purchase.

In Istanbul, Mahsun Aktas is a food server and cook at a restaurant that sells seafood² like fish, squid and mussels. He said the restaurant finally raised prices in April because oil became four times more costly³ than it was in 2019.

He said the restaurant postponed⁴ raising prices for many years, hoping oil costs would fall.

"But we saw there is no improvement," he said. But higher prices cause a problem: "the customer cannot afford it."

Indonesia 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 protests⁵ in the capital, Jakarta.

A woman named Emiwati runs a small eating place in Jakarta. She needs 24 liters⁶ 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.

Other people are trying new cooking methods.

Glaudina 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.

"We will just have to boil everything now, the days of the frying pan⁷ are gone," she said.

In Britain, Spain and Italy, stores have also limited the amount of oil customers can buy.

In 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.

Yawar 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 "catastrophe⁸."

International 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 combinations⁹ so they can use less or different oils for their products.

Food 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.

Steve 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-term¹⁰ decline¹¹ in prices.

In the long term, Glauber said, the shortage¹² 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 Commission¹³ said it would support countries that decide to reduce the amount of vegetable oil that is used to make fuel for vehicles.

Currently¹⁴, however, restaurant owners from London to the southern U.S. state of Tennessee are worried that they might go out of business.

Harry¹⁵ Niazi in London makes fried¹⁶ fish and potatoes, known as fish and chips — a popular British meal. "It's very, very scary," he said.

In Tennessee, Christine Coronado makes fried foods at her restaurant called Jordan's Grab¹⁷ n' Go. She said she finally increased prices in April.

"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.

Words in This Story

customer – n. a person or group that buys a good or service

afford –v. to be able to pay for something

fry – v. to cook a food in hot oil

catastrophe– n. a terrible disaster; an extremely bad event

soap – n. a material used for washing things

mayonnaise – n. a food product added to other foods like salads or sandwiches made from eggs and vegetable oil

decline – n. a decrease

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

5 protests   

n.[体]抗议；抗议，反对( protest的名词复数 )v.声明( protest的第三人称单数 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• The protests have forced the government to back-pedal on the new tax. 抗议活动已迫使政府撤销新的税目。
• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。

6 liters   

n.升( liter的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In the metric system, measurements are made in metres and liters. 在公制中，用米和升作计量单位。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This can holds five liters of water. 这个容器可装五升水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pan   

n.平底锅；v.严厉批评

参考例句：

• The water had all boiled away and the pan was burned.水煮干了，锅也烧坏了。
• The eggs were frying in the pan.鸡蛋正在锅里煎。

8 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

9 combinations   

n.合作( combination的名词复数 )；密码组合；联合体；排列

参考例句：

• The music students are learning how to score tunes for various combinations. 学音乐的学生把曲调改编为各种器乐组曲。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some antigens, or combinations of antigens, are much more potent than others. 某些抗原或者联合抗原可比其它抗原作用强得多。 来自辞典例句

10 short-term   

adj.短期的

参考例句：

• The short-term training class has been run three times.短训班办了三期。
• For this they are running short-term courses and evening classes.为此，他们办了短训班和夜校。

11 decline   

n.衰微，跌落，下降；vt.使降低，婉谢；vi.下降，衰落，偏斜

参考例句：

• I must decline to show favour to any of the candidates.我必须拒绝偏袒任何一位候选人。
• The birthrate is on the decline.出生率在下降。

12 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

13 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

14 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

15 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

16 fried   

adj.油煎的；油炒的

参考例句：

• I ate everything fried.所有油炸的我都吃。
• I prefer fried peanuts.我选择炸花生。

17 grab   

vt./n.攫取，抓取；vi.攫取，抓住(at)

参考例句：

• It is rude to grab a seat.抢占座位是不礼貌的。
• The thief made a grab at my bag but I pushed him away.贼想抢我的手提包，但被我推开了。