Edible oil prices declined over the year, providing relief to consumers: Minister

livemint.com:

New Delhi: Minister of state for consumer affairs, food and public distribution Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Wednesday said prices of refined sunflower oil, refined soybean oil, and RBD palmolien have declined significantly over the past year, bringing much-needed respite to consumers amid economic challenges. In response to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister said retail prices of refined sunflower oil witnessed an impressive decrease of 29.04% over the past year. Similarly, refined soybean oil prices declined 18.98%, while RBD palmolien prices dropped 25.43% during the same period.

The price reductions can be attributed to the efforts by the government in closely monitoring and regulating the domestic retail prices of edible oils, ensuring that consumers benefit from the downward trend in international prices, the minister said. The government has actively engaged with leading edible oil associations and industry representatives, encouraging them to align retail prices with the falling international rates. To establish stability and control in the prices of edible oils in the domestic market, the government implemented several key measures.

The basic duty on crude palm oil, crude soybean oil, and crude sunflower oil was entirely removed from the previously set 2.5%. Additionally, the agri-cess on oils was reduced from 20% to 5%. These measures were initially introduced on 30 December 2022 and have been extended until 31 March 2024, she added.