Cooking oil price may rise unless...

By SUNDAY NEWS Reporter

TWO oil tankers have docked at the Dar es Salaam Port for two weeks now due to a stalemate by some government institutions over how much the importer should pay in taxes.

The situation may lead to skyrocketing of prices of cooking oil in the local market. This was revealed in Dodoma yesterday during a capacity building workshop for members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industries, Trade and Environment on the duties and responsibilities of Fair Competition Commission(FCC), Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and Business Registrations and Licencing Agency (BRELA)
According to the Committee Chairperson, Mr Suleiman Murad,the Office of the Chief Government Chemist, Tanzania Bureau of Standards and Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) failed to reach consensus on the specific type of oil cargo the tankers were carrying. “A misunderstanding on the identification of the product carried by the two vessels has emerged, causing the oil tankers to stay at the port for two weeks now,” said Mr Murad.
One oil tanker has 30 tonnes and the other, 31 tonnes. According to the committee chairman, while TBS officials and those from the office of Chief Government Chemist certified the cargo as crude oil, TRA refuted the report, saying the cargo was semi-refined oil.
“What kind of communication do you normally establish to resolve the standoff in situations like this? One says it is crude oil and other says it is semi-refined oil,” Mr Murad remarked.
The committee chairman claimed that prices of cooking oil had started to rise in the local market as local producers were now running out of raw materials. “Since we have here the Deputy Minister for Industries, Trade and Investment, Ms Stella Manyanya, I ask you to take this matter to the relevant authorities,” he said.
“Since one of the roles of the Parliamentary Committee is to advise the government, I will also refer this matter to my committee for thorough deliberations,” he added