Officials said on Monday that Kolkata, June 2 (PTI) gives relief from homes, in the next two weeks, the prices of cooking oils are expected to fall by 5-6 percent at the retail level in the next two weeks.
Emami Agrotech director and CEO Sudhakar Rao Desai told PTI, “In recent months, the prices of edible oil increased by about 17 percent have finally been showing symptoms of cooling.
For families struggling with growing food bills, the effect may soon be felt in ‘Kiran’ (grocery) shops and supermarkets.
Show full article
While the profit is expected to be reflected in retail prices in a fortnight, the wholesale markets are already showing early signs of soft prices, said the executive of the major branded edible oil manufacturer in Eastern India.
Price improvement will not be limited to imported oils alone.
“Even mustard oil, which is not dependent on imports, can see a reduction of 3-4 percent due to overall down pressure in the edible oil market,” Desai said.
Behind the curtain, the policy shift is also giving a new lease of life to India’s edible oil laundering industry. The wide difference between the duties of raw and sophisticated oil has made it more cost effective for importing crude oil and refining it domestically for companies-from 12.5 percent to 22.5 percent.
“10 percent duty deduction is a game-changer,” Keshab Kumar Halder said, Managing Director of Halder Venture Limited.
The head of the publicly listed Agro firm said, “Domestic retail prices of imported edible oils such as soybean, sunflower and palm oil are expected to decline gradually. The trend below is also likely to expand even domesticly produced oils such as rice bran and mustard oil.”
“It not only helps consumers, but also strengthens the position of Indian manufacturers who were first lost due to unfair competition from duties-free exports from countries like Nepal,” said Halder.
The Indian refiner was squeezed by high input costs and low margin, but the revised duty structure now provides them with a clear competitive advantage, they explained.
“It will give rise to better capacity usage, better profit margin and a strong domestic refinement ecosystem,” said Hurdr.
Industry leaders estimate that the use of capacity in the refining sector may increase by 20-25 percent, promotes the Central Government’s Make in India initiative and can reduce dependence on imported sophisticated oil. PTI BSM SBN SBN
This report is auto-generated with PTI News Service. ThePrint does not have any responsibility for its content.