India cuts edible oil import duties to check rising prices

The government has slashed import duties on crude and refined palm, soybean and sunflower oils, effective September 24. The basic customs duty on crude soybean and palm oil has been cut from 10% to 5%, and on refined soybean and palm oil from 32.5% to 27.5%. The duty on crude sunflower oil has been abolished, and refined sunflower oil duty trimmed to 22.5% from 32.5%, the finance ministry said.

The decision comes as retail inflation in refined oil hit 14.24% in August. Sudhakar Desai, president of the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association, said lower duties should improve landed costs but the impact on consumer prices depends on global commodity prices, freight and exchange rates. The Solvent Extractors' Association flagged potential volatility from El Nino, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Indonesia's B50 biodiesel programme.

India's edible oil imports rose 4.56% in the first 10 months of the oil year 2025-26, with palm oil imports at 65.34 lakh tonnes, soybean oil at 45.61 lakh tonnes and sunflower oil at 25.15 lakh tonnes, as per SEA data. The industry has also flagged competition from zero-duty imports from Nepal under SAFTA.