Smuggling Blamed for Rise in Cooking Oil Prices

Outbound smuggling via eastern and western borders is to blame for the increase in prices of cooking oil, says Qasemali Hassani, secretary of the Union of Food Wholesalers. 
“Sadly, the government is in charge of the production of cooking oil from beginning to end, from the allocation of foreign currency to the supply of raw materials, pricing and distribution; the private sector plays no role in this matter,” Hassani was quoted as saying by IRIB News. 
“Prices are set by the government and cooking oil is only being distributed at chain stores with those price tags, whereas only 25% of people have access to chain stores,” he added.  
He called on officials to dismiss mandatory pricing and instead pay cooking oil subsidy directly to the people, which is 10 million rials ($40) annually.