Now Reading: Edible oil prices may stay high longer than onion surge
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Edible oil prices may stay high longer than onion surge
Consumers face persistently high edible oil prices even as onion costs are expected to ease by October. Retail sunflower oil is up 19.5% year-on-year to Rs 193.97/kg, palm oil up 15.9% and…
Consumers face persistently high edible oil prices even as onion costs are expected to ease by October. Retail sunflower oil is up 19.5% year-on-year to Rs 193.97/kg, palm oil up 15.9% and soybean oil up 13.9%, according to Department of Consumer Affairs data. Crisil Intelligence director Pushan Sharma said edible oil price pressure could persist given the West Asia conflict and Indonesia diverting palm oil to biodiesel.
Onion prices have doubled to Rs 54.13/kg but analysts expect relief as the Kharif harvest reaches markets around October. The Centre has released buffer stocks at Rs 35/kg through NCCF and NAFED. Sugar prices rose 22% to Rs 56.70/kg, prompting the government to cut stockholding limits for dealers to 2,000 quintals until November 30.
On September 24, the Centre scrapped the 10% basic customs duty on crude sunflower oil and reduced duties on crude soybean and palm oil to 5%. Analysts say India's import dependence leaves domestic edible oil prices exposed to global costs and currency movements. Tur and urad dal prices rose nearly 8% each, while rice is up 7.6%.
Indian Opinion Analysis
India imports nearly 60% of its edible oil requirement, leaving domestic prices directly exposed to global vegetable oil markets. The government's duty cut on September 24, lowering basic customs duty on crude sunflower, soybean and palm oil, is an import-cost intervention, but the 19.25 percentage-point differential with refined oil remains to protect domestic processors. The key watch item is crude palm oil prices on the Malaysian exchanges, which have stayed above Rs 800 per tonne since July. A sustained drop would need either a de-escalation in West Asia or Indonesia reversing its biodiesel diversion, neither of which is likely before the December harvests. The next official inflation print for September, due mid-October, will show whether the edible oil spike has begun feeding into broader wholesale food costs.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
