Consumption down, but Vanaspati weightage in WPI still high
wholesale price index (WPI) after palm oil, whereas sunflower and soybean oils, which are now consumed more, get a lower weightage in the WPI of 2011-12, an anomaly which may lead to erroneous data about inflation.
The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) recently wrote to the Centre, urging it to correct the weightage of different oils in the WPI to reflect the present consumption pattern.
The weightage of edible oils in the WPI is 2.64293% under the food articles category. It is based on the consumption and the average price.
«The consumption pattern of edible oils has totally changed in the last few years,» the association said in a letter to the consumer affairs ministry.
Price sensitivity and availability are the top factors that have led to a change in the consumption pattern of cooking oils, followed by health factors, it said.
Although there are regional preferences, such as mustard oil in northern India and copra oil in Kerala, groundnut oil was the predominant oil used in most parts of the country till five-six decades ago, according to industry veterans.
«Groundnut oil used to be the main cooking oil in most parts of the country during the 1960s and 1970s. It was also used for manufacturing vanaspati,» said Atul Chaturvedi, chairman, Asian Palm Oil Alliance. «However, though the production of groundnut has not declined, it is now going in large quantities for exports. The consumption of groundnut as a table nut has also increased significantly, decreasing its availability for cooking oil.»
