Cooking oil prices are up 60%. The spike in the price of cooking oils is expected to remain high over the next few months, and could possibly extend until the end of the year. The crisis, which has been on-going for over a year, has been largely due to a global shortage in oil producing crops. Internationally, poor climate conditions have resulted in poor harvests of sunflower, canola, palm and other edible oils, within their respective regions. The global shortage of edible oil has shown its consequences on shelf, with popular oils such as sunflower, having risen by 60% since January 2020. Sunflower oil, a staple in South Africa, has now become a costly item for the average consumer, having nearly doubled in price over the last 17 months. The demands for oil are high, and currently standing, South Africa does not produce enough vegetable oil to be able to meet local demand. As a result, it has pushed the industry to source oils from Europe; having our domestic prices being influenced by international oil prices. “In South Africa, we have seen a significant change in consumers switching from sunflower oil to canola oil, due to the price on shelf” says Commercial director of SOILL, Morne Botes. Currently, canola oil is less 7% than sunflower oil, and with the economic repercussions of the pandemic, consumers are faced with the dilemma of either paying more for their favourite brand, or switching to different oils or brands that are more affordable.