India’s edible oil consumption basket has undergone a marked shift over the past decade, with consumers steadily moving towards soybean, sunflower and mustard oils. However, the wholesale price index (WPI) continues to mirror consumption patterns of an earlier era, giving disproportionate weight to palm oil and vanaspati, industry officials said.
Palm oil, though still the most widely consumed cooking oil in the country, has seen its share fall from about 38.9 per cent in 2011-12 to 31.8 per cent in 2024-25. Despite this decline, its weight in the WPI has remained unchanged at 38.4 per cent.
In contrast, soybean oil’s share in total edible oil consumption has climbed sharply from 15.55 per cent to 24.7 per cent over the same period. Sunflower oil consumption has nearly doubled, rising from around 6 per cent in 2011-12 to 11.6 per cent in 2024-25. Mustard and rapeseed oils have also recorded growth in absolute volumes, reflecting a gradual consumer shift towards locally produced and perceived healthier oils.
Under the current WPI framework, edible oils together carry a weight of 2.64293 per cent within the food articles category. These weights were fixed in the 2011-12 base year and have not been revised since.
“The weightage is based on consumption and average price. However, the consumption pattern of edible oils has totally changed in the last few years,” said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA). The industry body has flagged traditional high-weight items such as palm oil and vanaspati, noting a clear and sustained decline in their consumption.
The most significant change has been in vanaspati usage. While it continues to carry the highest WPI weight among edible oils, its share in total consumption has dropped from 5.75 per cent in 2011-12 to just 2.6 per cent in 2024-25. SEA has recommended a sharp reduction in its weight to better reflect current market realities.
The issue has gained urgency as the government sets up a working group led by economist Ramesh Chand to revise the WPI base year. The edible oil industry is urging policymakers to realign WPI weights with present-day consumption trends to ensure more accurate inflation measurement.
“There is still significant availability of palm oil. However, its weightage should be rationalized downwards as demand is falling,” SEA said in a report submitted to the commerce ministry.
Industry experts argue that without an update, the WPI risks overstating price pressures in oils that are losing relevance, while understating the impact of price movements in oils that now form a larger part of Indian kitchens.