Informist, Wednesday, Sep 18, 2024

NEW DELHI – The recent hike in import duty on edible oils will not lead to a spurt in prices of cooking oil during the festival season, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said today.

Addressing a press conference to highlight the 100-day achievements of the ministry here today, Chopra said even if the domestic inventories go dry, cooking oil prices need not rise sharply as global prices are likely to soften.

The government on Tuesday said domestic stocks were comfortable in the country as about 3 mln tn of edible oil were imported before the import duty hike.

To promote domestic oilseed cultivation, the government on Friday sharply raised the basic import duty on crude and refined edible oils to 20% and 32.5% from nil and 12.5%, respectively. The effective import duty on crude oils will increase to 27.5% from 5.5% and that on refined oils will rise to 35.75% from 13.75%.

To check wheat prices, Chopra said a committee of ministers has approved an additional allocation of 3.5 mln tn of wheat under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana till March 2025.

The secretary also said the government is considering raising the minimum selling price of sugar and revising rates of ethanol derived from sugarcane-based feedstocks. The sugar industry has been demanding a raise in the minimum selling price of sugar, citing the rise in sugarcane price hikes.

In February, the government raised the fair and remunerative price for sugarcane for the 2024-25 (Oct-Sep) sugar season to 340 rupees per 100 kg. The fair and remunerative price paid to sugarcane farmers has been raised four times in recent years. On the other hand, the minimum selling price for sugar has remained unchanged at 31 rupees a kg since 2019.

Chopra said the government is considering lifting the ban on non-basmati rice exports. The government in July last year prohibited the export of non-basmati white rice due to concern over lower paddy acreage and to control soaring rice prices. End

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Saji George Titus

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