Oil firms asked not to hike retail prices; Centre says 30 lakh tonnes of supply available at lower duty

The central government on Tuesday advised edible oil processors to maintain the retail prices of edible oils, stating that there is close to 30 LMT of edible supplies imported at lower duty and sufficient for 45-50 days of domestic consumption. The development followed a recent decision by the government to import the duty applicable to edible oil products.

After a meeting with the representatives from edible oil processors to discuss the pricing strategy going forward, the government advised edible oil associations to ensure that the "MRP of each oil is maintained till the availability of edible oil stocks imported at 0 per cent and 12.5 per cent Basic Customs Duty (BCD) and take up the issue with their members immediately", the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said.

The increase in the basic customs duty on a range of edible oils, aimed at bolstering domestic oilseed farmers, took effect on September 14, according to the statement.

Also, the basic customs duty applicable to refined palm oil, refined sunflower oil, and refined soybean oil was increased from 12.5 per cent to 32.5 per ent, taking the effective duty on refined oils to 35.75 per cent.

Earlier, the industry reduced the retail prices of edible oils such as sunflower oil, soybean oil, and mustard oil following meetings with the government. 

The industry has been advised to align the domestic prices with the international prices from time to time to ensure minimum burden on the end-consumer.

India imports a large quantity of edible oils to meet domestic demand.

The country relies on imports to meet more than half of its overall requirement of the commodity.

India imports palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia, and soyabean oil from Brazil and Argentina.

Its sunflower oil supply comes mainly from Russia and Ukraine.