MALAYSIA has offered to assist the UK to overcome a shortage of cooking oil by selling it problematic palm oil.

The Ukrainian conflict has resulted in a shortfall of sunflower and vegetable oils for cooking, affecting food producers, restaurants, and retailers throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.

Larry Soon, Chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), has offered to supply palm oil to help resolve the problem, which experts think is a healthier alternative to vegetable and sunflower oil.

However, palm oil sales had previously been prohibited in some locations, such as the Iceland frozen food chain, and restricted in others due to worries over how its farming affects rainforests and results in the extinction of orangutans.

As a result, any initiative to raise palm oil supplies is expected to infuriate the ecological lobby.

Malaysia, on the other hand, has stated that its palm oil is produced under more stringent controls than that of certain other countries, ensuring that the rainforest is not harmed and that unique species are conserved.

The intervention over palm oil comes as Waitrose grocery chain has begun rationing its cooking vegetable oil supplies.

Waitrose stores have recently displayed signs informing customers that they are limited to two items per person and that they are also limited to two sunflower oil purchases while purchasing online.

Iceland has already been forced to retract a widely publicized rejection of palm oil products. In a statement, its chairman, Richard Walker, stated that resuming purchases of palm oil is the only option to keep shelves stocked, as sunflower oil has become “completely unobtainable” as a result of the Ukraine crisis.

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