Despite the request to consumers not to ‘Panic Buy’, the oil stalls of supermarkets are empty and some small traders are taking advantage of this to add a few more rupees on the remaining bottles! The public does not trust the government’s announcements and prefers to have more than none, without the awareness that this can cause an artificial shortage.
The bomb effect announcement
If in the first communiqué dated 18th March, the order of the Ministry of Commerce and Consumer Protection was formal that the traders should impose a limit of two bottles of 1L of oil per consumer, the second communiqué, released on the same day, explains that the limit of purchase is a common practice that is done throughout the year and that there is no shortage for the moment. The department also asked buyers not to panic or engage in compulsive or unnecessary buying.
A race for oil!
But the damage is already done … supermarkets can testify, it is the race to oil! After this bomb of the Ministry of Commerce, the directors of these large businesses reassure that the supply is soon expected because there is no shortage in sight and same has been reported by the importers. The local producer of edible oil Moroil has assured that they have sufficient stock. The Company Agiliss, which imports the brands Leader and Orient, has even released a statement on Saturday evening of 19th March to highlight that “everything has already been implemented to address a shortage of oil on the local market … Even before the problem arises, we had already made the necessary arrangements by establishing contact with various suppliers of oil a few weeks ago … We not only have the stock from Egypt but we have also finalized large supply contracts with other countries. Everything is in place so that the new oil shipments will be delivered to Mauritius as soon as possible. We reassure the public that there is no need to panic and that the market will be adequately supplied.
Global reality
However, the global reality is that restrictions have been announced by some countries on oil exports to Mauritius. With the intensification of Russia’s war in Ukraine, a shortage has been predicted as Egypt runs out of sunflowers mainly imported from Ukraine. As of March 18, the State Trading Corporation (STC) also explained that the import of edible oil bottles has been halted since December 2022 and that negotiations are underway for better deals.
