USED or recycled cooking oil is making a comeback following the government’s decision to scrap the subsidy for the foodstuff, industry experts said.

They said the price of recycled oil, which is marginally lower than bottled cooking oil, is enticing for traders who use it in bulk.

However, it is not widely used at the moment as most business owners are concerned about their customers’ health, they said.

Boon Kok Choong, head of complaints for the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Petty Traders association, said it is not new for businesses to buy used oil, but it is more prevalent now.

He is worried that with the cancellation of the subsidies, used cooking oil will now flood the market.

“I run a restaurant and not too long ago someone approached me to buy used oil,” Boon said.

“It is much cheaper, at RM7-8 for 5kg of used oil, but in restaurants, we always replace it because it is unhealthy to reuse.”

Boon said if there are businesses that want to buy used oil, they must be vigilant and ensure that it comes from a proper source.

“When they approach us, we don’t know if the oil has been cleaned or refined. I hope businesses will stay away from it,” Boon said.

The government ended the subsidy for bottled cooking oil effective July 1, with the exception of 1kg poly bags.

The subsidy for 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg bottled cooking oil was initially introduced in August 2021 and was only supposed to last three months.

This year, the government spent RM4 billion in subsidies for cooking oil compared to RM500 million in 2020 and RM2.2 billion in 2021.

Lim Suai Chai, chairman of the Kuala Lumpur Pasar Malam Hawkers Association, said removing the subsidy would only affect those who use a lot of oil for food preparation, such as fried chicken and fried shrimp cakes.

“Fruit sellers for example won’t be affected and face pressure,” Lim said.

When asked whether any of its members have purchased used oil, Lim said there were some who did, but a majority won’t.

“There is a difference in taste when you fry using free oil and used oil.”

Johor Kitchen Association president Ang Swee Kiong said the move has put pressure on restaurant owners.

“Raw materials are expensive, now we don’t have an oil subsidy. We may have to increase our prices again,” Ang said.

While he has heard of businesses buying used oil, Ang said Chinese restaurants typically don’t buy them.

“Chinese restaurants won’t buy them because reputation is very important. Some customers may also ask us what oil we use.

“However, some restaurants may have turned to used oil to cut costs.” – July 7, 2022.