Edible oil to be cheaper as export ban on palm oil lifted

Nagpur: The central government has reduced import duty on soybean and sunflower from 7 per cent to zero per cent for two years. At the same time since Indonesia has lifted the palm oil export ban , the rates of edible oil are expected to be cheaper by Rs 10 per kg in India.

The soybean and sunflower oil prices remained unchanged on Wednesday and Thursday after the government's announcement.

Indonesia banned palm oil exports on April 28. However, the ban has been lifted since May 23. Imports of palm oil were closed during this period. Therefore, the price of edible oil, including soybean oil, had reached Rs 170 per kg. According to traders, it will take 15 days for oil imports to be restored.

Annual import of 200 lakh tonnes of edible oil

The central government has controlled the price rise in edible oil by reducing import duties. But, it is unlikely to decrease. The government has exempted 2 million tonnes of sunflower oil and 2 million tonnes of soybean oil annually from import duty. However, in reality, oil seed production in the country is low. About 200 lakh tonnes of edible oil has to be imported every year. The annual import of soybean oil is 130 lakh tonnes and import of sunflower oil is 4 million tonnes. Traders are questioning whether the government will levy import duty again if imports exceed Rs 40 lakh.

Palm oil Rs 210 kg

Soybean oil is imported from the United States (Chicago), Argentina and Brazil, and sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine. Imports of sunflower oil have been suspended for nearly four months due to the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, the price of this oil has gone up from Rs 160 to Rs 220 per kg in six months. Due to the market slump, the price has fallen by Rs 10 to Rs 210. As a result, demand for soybean oil has increased, affecting sales of this oil. In retail market te rate of Soybean oil is Rs 170 per kg. Rising demand is likely to push up oil prices rather than reduce them.

Thursday edible oil prices (per kg)

Soybeans 174

Groundnut 184

Palm 170

Sunflower 210

Rice Bran 176

Sesame 200