KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5: Malaysia has slapped restrictions on cooking oil purchases after panic-buying triggered by rumours of price hikes caused severe shortages, reports said on Saturday.

From next week, customers will only be permitted to buy a maximum of 5kg of cooking oil at any one time, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal said, according to the state Bernama news agency.

To address the crisis, cooking oil production capacity was also being boosted by 10pc, he said.

This is not the first time we are conducting a rationing exercise for controlled items. We did the same when there was a similar crisis involving sugar, he said late on Friday.

Cooking oil smuggling is a major cause of this crisis, and as such, I ask the Customs Department and the Anti-Smuggling Unit to help us in overcoming it, he added.

Supermarket shelves were stripped of cooking oil in several states, with retailers not able to replenish supplies fast enough.

—APP