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| Cooking oils are displayed on the shelf at a grocery store in Seoul, on May 2, 2021. Korea Times file |
By Kim Jae-heun
Cooking oil has become the most-sought-after item in online secondhand markets as concerns over its global supplies have prompted more consumers to stock up the staple item. Indonesia's export ban on its palm oil and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine have led cooking oil makers to hike their retail prices, making oil a hot item among thrifty consumers shopping on secondhand markets.
According to Danggeun Market, three 500-milliliter bottles of unopened cooking oil were sold for 5,000 won ($3.94) on May 6, or about 1,660 won each. Given that people can buy the 500-milliliter bottle for as low as 2,200 won on e-commerce sites, 5,000 won for three is considered quite expensive, according to the country's largest online flea market platform.
"After the prices of many raw materials and processed foods increased due to the war in Ukraine, I thought that it would be good to keep some in stock beforehand. You just don't know when the local manufacturers will increase cooking oil's price," a 32-year-old consumer surnamed Kim said.
A 41-year-old housewife surnamed Kang also purchased six containers of cooking oil on Danggeun Market. "I bought it in case cooking oil runs out of stock at grocery stores. It's better to buy it now when the price is still cheap," Kang said.
Searches for cooking oil on online markets have soared, reflecting the growing interest in the item among consumers.
According to Item Scout, an e-commerce data analytics platform, the keyword, "cooking oil" was searched 74,070 times in the fifth week of April, which is 5.4 times more than the 13,830 times it was searched on the fourth week.
Meanwhile, the supply of cooking oil on online shopping malls decreased from 583,696 in the fifth week of March to 502,975 in the fifth week of April, which is down by about 14 percent.
The number of cooking oil sold online started to decrease from March 27, the week when Indonesia announced an export ban on palm oil.
"In Korea, most cooking oil is made from beans. Indonesia's export ban of palm oil may not increase the price of cooking oil instantly, but it can lead to a short supply of the raw material worldwide, resulting in an increase in the cost of the raw material in the end," a local food company official said.
