Debbie Went, the owner of Cracker Jack Cafe and Takeaway at Lake Albert, has been slugged with a huge jump in the price of cooking oil over the past year.

"Our oil has tripled," she said. "We used to use rice bran ... we couldn't get it anymore, it would be cheaper."

Mrs Went now pays $900 a week for canola oil and, factoring in increased wages and hikes for nearly every other consumable item, it's getting tough to keep up - even though she passes the price rise on to customers.

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The Consumer Price Index is up 6.1 per cent for the year but some goods, such as chip shop staples oil and potatoes, have surged in that time.

Oils and fats have risen 14 per cent since June 2021, 10 per cent of that coming this year. While vegetables are up 14.6 per cent in the past year.

One thing Mrs Went hasn't increased in price is "her lure", her chips. But she admits she's likely making a loss on them and dares not check what she pays per box.

"All my other prices have gone up, people don't like it," she said.

"I haven't looked at the price of chips because I don't want to scare myself."

Lana Minchin, who has been the manager at Southcity Takeaway for four years, said oil prices "have gone crazy".

The business uses an animal-based frying oil which has gone up $40 per box in six months.

And with the floods in northern NSW affecting potato supplies, they've made portion sizes smaller while prices have increased.

"We've got to try and incorporate that into our prices and people aren't happy," she said.

Ms Minchin's boss has also cut staff hours as she struggles to keep afloat, and has recently put the business up for sale with nearby KFC further eating into profits.

John Spanos, the owner of New Oceanic Takeaway stores in Kooringal and Wagga central, is also feeling the pinch.

Mr Spanos is paying $60 a box for animal-based frying oil, compared to $29 in 2019, and while he's as yet unaffected by potato cost rises - he buys his fresh and in bulk four times a year - it's getting "tighter" to run a business.

"With staff [costs], with oil going up, it's getting tighter, but having said that we've got a loyal customer base," he said.

Mr Spanos said he can see more small takeaways shutting their doors in the near future.

"We don't have the buying power of the big Maccas stores and KFC, it's getting harder," he said.

Mrs Went said she could be one of those people.

"I wish I could get out of it, I just can't sell it," she said.

"I'm struggling as it is and I'm working myself into the ground to keep it going."

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