For the marketing year 2021-22 (November-October), India, a big importer of edible oils, imported cooking oils worth 1.57 lakh crore.
New Delhi, India – The Centre today ordered edible oil firms to lower cooking oil costs in line with worldwide price declines for the benefit of consumers.
It imports palm edible oil from Malaysia and Indonesia, and soybean edible oil from Argentina and Brazil.
“The price decline in edible oils should be passed on to consumers as soon as possible,” Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said at a meeting with top sector executives here.
An official statement added that representatives from the Solvent Extraction Association of India (SEA) and the Indian Vegetable edible Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) were present at the meeting to explore additional reductions in the retail pricing of edible cooking oils amid a drop in world prices.
Mother Dairy, which supplies cooking oils under the Dhara brand, said on Thursday that it has dropped maximum retail pricing by 15-20 cents per litre and that fresh stock would be available next week.
According to official statistics, the retail price of packaged groundnut oil was 189.13 per kg on Thursday, mustard oil was 150.84 per kg, vanaspati was 132.62 per kg, soyabean oil was 138.2 per kg, sunflower oil was 145.18 per kg, and palm oil was 110.05 per kg.
According to the food ministry, international prices of imported edible oils are falling, which bodes well for India’s edible oil business.
The industry said that, in the previous two months, the prices of various edible oils had decreased by USD 200 to USD 250 per tonne globally, but it takes time for price reductions to appear in retail markets.
Edible oil organisations have been encouraged to immediately raise the problem with their members and ensure that the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) of each oil is decreased in line with the drop in worldwide edible oil prices with immediate effect.
Furthermore, the food ministry has requested that manufacturers and refiners reduce the price at which edible oils are supplied to distributors.
When manufacturers/refiners reduce their prices to distributors, the benefit should be passed on to consumers by the industry.
Some companies that have not reduced their prices and whose MRP is higher than other brands have also been advised to do so,” according to the statement.
During the meeting, other topics such as price data collection and edible oil packaging were also discussed.
Previously, the industry reduced the MRP of edible oils.
Oil prices fell as a result of lower worldwide pricing and lower import duties on edible oils, making them cheaper.
“With edible oil prices beginning to fall and the edible oil industry preparing to make further reductions, Indian consumers can expect to pay less for their edible oils.” “Falling edible oil prices will also help to cool inflation,” the statement stated.
The Department of Food and Public Distribution is continuously monitoring and analyzing edible oil pricing, and intervenes whenever necessary to maintain edible oil affordability, it noted.
Many global factors, including higher input and logistic costs, drove up international and domestic edible oil prices during 2021-22.
“However, edible oil prices in the international market are currently declining.” The drop in edible oil costs in the domestic market is progressively being mirrored in the domestic market, offering relief to consumers,” according to the statement.
In the 2021-22 marketing year, India’s edible oil import bill increased 34% to 1.57 lakh crore, while volume increased 6.85% to 140.3 lakh tonnes.
Disclaimer: This news feature is sourced from NDTV and is a part of their daily update.
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