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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 23, 2025

MUMBAI – The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association has urged the government to reinstate standardised pack sizes for edible oils to ensure transparency, restore normalcy in the market, and protect consumer interests, it said in a release Wednesday. Standardised packaging ensures price comparisons are simple, creating a level playing field for both consumers and producers, it said.

A range of packaging, such as 5 kilograms, 2 kg, 1 kg, 500 grams, 200 grams or any other lower-size packs, will be a constructive step toward strengthening the consumer ecosystem, according to the association.

Currently, the market is being proliferated with non-standard packaging. The legal metrology (packaged commodities) rules, 2022, omitted schedule II, which mandated that commodities be packed in specific quantities, according to the release. This led to the market using non-standardised packaging.

The intended benefit of omitting schedule II was to allow producers to pack as they deemed fit. It was expected that soon, the markets would settle down and consumer awareness of unit selling price would take care of the non-standard pack offerings, the association said. "However, consumers are now faced with a plethora of brands and pack options that look similar but differ in quantity—leading to confusion and, at times, a misleading value perception," it said.

Even with unit sale prices, small differences in net weight often go unnoticed, reducing the effectiveness of this safeguard in everyday decision-making, the vegetable oil producers' body said. 

Edible oil, being a household staple, should have packaging that ensures that price comparisons are simple, transparent, and fair, which will encourage trust and long-term brand value, the association said.  End

Reported by Taniva Singha Roy

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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