The Malawi Oilseeds Producers and Processers Enterprise (LAPE) has challenged government to remove tax on cooking oil if prospects of having oil prices reduced in the country are to be realised.

LAPE Interim President Dr. Peter Ngoma has told Minister of Industry Roy Kachale Banda during an interface in Lilongwe that local cooking oil manufactures and processors are sailing through serious productions challenges due to shortage of raw materials in the country.

Speaking to Yoneco FM, Dr Ngoma said authorities need to work on having a long-term and sustainable solution towards addressing the current challenges of oil pricing structures.

“Since we don’t have enough raw materials in terms of oil seeds in Malawi, it is important to consider or review the exports that take place for oil seeds so that we feed our local industry.

“The other issue is the Value Added Tax (VAT) itself, we have proposed that most of the cooking oil is coming from imported palm crude oil, it is important that the duty that is on crude palm oil be removed temporarily,” said Dr Ngoma.

Responding to the suggestions, Minister of Trade Roy Kachale Banda said government will go back to the drawing board and see how the matter will be resolved.

“It`s not going to be easy for us just to talk about the subsidy in palm oil and says that’s going to be the solution all maybe the removal of VAT is going to be a solution, no.

“We have to consult our people in Treasury, Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA), Ministry of Trade so there no a button we can push that’s going to push that’s going to bring down the prices,” said Banda.

A number of stakeholders have been expressing dismay over skyrocketing of cooking oil prices saying that they are exorbitant.