Maharashtra assembly polls fire up kitchen staple prices
cooking oil have turned pricier in the run-up to the Maharashtra assembly election, following the government's interventions to ensure better returns to farmers in the state which is the country's largest producer of the kitchen staples, said industry executives.
Cooking oil prices have increased 18-25% in the wake of the imposition of import duty last week, they said, and as prices of all oils, including soybean, have gone up, farmers in Maharashtra are expected to get higher prices for their crop.
Similarly, onions have become about 12% costlier in a week following the government's move to free up exports, according to the executives. Sugar prices have increased about 5% over the past month, they said, as the government, instead of following the usual practice of releasing more sugar in the market during the festive season, slashed the sugar quota for September by 6% to assuage the politically strong cooperatives and sugarcane farmers of Maharashtra.
Last year, in the run-up to the 2024 general election, the Centre had taken a number of decisions to keep prices of commodities such as onions, pulses, sugar and cooking oils under control, adversely affecting the returns of farmers. Now, ahead of the state polls in Maharashtra, the balance has tilted in favour of the farmers, who form a chunk of the electorate, at the expense of the consumers at a time of peak festive season demand, said one of the executives.
Cooking Oils: «Cooking oil prices have increased 18-25% during the last one month,» Shankar Thakkar,
