Minister Nzenza Blames Cooking Oil Price Hike On Rising ‘Crude Oil’ Prices

Industry and Commerce minister Sekai Nzenza has bizarrely blamed the recent hike in the price of cooking oil by local retailers on rising prices of crude oil on the international market.

Speaking to ZBC News, Nzenza asserted that since Zimbabwe needs foreign currency to import the crude oil, the price of cooking oil naturally goes up. She said:

The reason why [the price of] cooking oil has gone up… we tracked that it’s caused by prices on the international market, on the price of crude oil.

We are importing this crude oil and that requires foreign currency and as a result, there is a there is an impact on the price of cooking oil.

According to an online source, crude oil is a naturally occurring, unrefined petroleum product composed of hydrocarbon deposits and other organic materials. A type of fossil fuel, crude oil can be refined to produce usable products such as gasoline, diesel, and various other forms of petrochemicals.

However, the permanent secretary in the ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Ndavaningi Mangwana defended Nzenza’s use of the term “crude oil” in relation to cooking oil. Mangwana said via Twitter:

As a matter of fact, Minister Nzenza is correct. Zimbabwe gets crushed soya from Argentina which is processed by Zimbabwean cooking oil pressers. That crushed soya is called “crude oil”. There is a labour action in Argentina affecting supply & price of this crude oil.-pindula.co.zw