Prices of palm oil, sunflower and soybean oil have been slashed by Rs. 15 per litre by branded edible oil makers. This is because international prices have softened, bringing some relief to consumers who are lurching under an inflationary burden.
According to Sudhakar Rao Desai, president, Indian Vegetable Oil Producers Association, the effect of the fall in prices will be felt instantly for the economy and popular brands, while the premium brands will take some time to pass on the price drop to consumers.
The fall in costs has encouraged distributors to stock up as demand is expected to pick up. The fall in edible oil prices will also have an impact on food inflation, a major part of which comes from edible oils.
The edible oil and fat category saw 13.26% inflation in May, mostly contributed by the surge in domestic prices of edible oil in the past year.
Palm oil prices have gone down by Rs. 7-8 per litre, while sunflower oil prices have fallen by Rs. 10–15 per litre, and soybean oil prices have been reduced by Rs. 5 per litre.
At the request of the government, Adani Wilmer is also reducing the MRP (maximum retail price) of edible oils across the board to support consumers. The reduction will be made according to the market trend. Oils with the new MRP will reach the market by next week.
Hyderabad-based Gemini Edibles & Fats has cut the MRP of its Freedom Sunflower Oil by Rs 15 to Rs. 220 for one litre pouch in the past week and is set to reduce it by another Rs. 20 this week to Rs. 200 per litre.
Recently, the sunflower oil supplies have started to come partially from other countries such as Argentina and Russia, which has resulted in some price drops. The Centre’s intrusion, with a series of duty cuts on crude sunflower oil, has helped reduce the price of sunflower oil.