April 16, 2020
Mother Dairy’s edible oil production per day was 650 tons before lockdown and sales per day were also in the same range. Mother Dairy spokesperson said that the impact on oil business has been a dip in the range of 35-40% during this lockdown period.
Mother Dairy, sells cooking oils under Dhara brand. The company said the production and sales of edible oils have been drastically hit by 35-40 per cent post lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19. The hit in the edible oil business has dual causes, while production has been hit due to labour shortages and transport & logistics issues, the demand in sales is down because of closures of restaurants, eateries, hotels and cafeterias forms a major part of sales.
“Initially there was a significant decline in production after lockdown as labour and manpower were unavailable. However, the issues are being addressed gradually.
There is a demand for our product as it’s an essential food item, however, due to logistical issues and closure of business establishments sales have been impacted,” the company’s spokesperson said.
When enquired about the company’s increased prices of cooking oils after lockdown, the spokesperson replied the price revision is a routine activity in our business due to volatility in raw material prices.
“Prices were not changed due to lockdown announcement but were changed as a routine business exercise,” answered the spokesperson.
Mother Dairy has an annual production capacity of 2 lakh tons and approximately the same is the demand of Dhara.
“We operate with 18 third party packing units. All these plants are strictly following safety and hygiene guidelines announced by the government,” informed the spokesperson.
After lockdown, leading edible oil company Adani Wilmar, that sells edible oil by the brand name of Fortune, Deputy CEO Angshu Mallick had told that both the company’s production and sales have been hit by 40 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.
India’s total edible oil demand is 230 lakh tons annually, which is largely met through imports from different countries.