Will festive season bring down edible oil and online prices?

The Centre expects the price of onions and edible oils to come down in the coming weeks. In the case of edible oils, the states will start imposing stock limits next week. Adding to that, the duty reduction will also provide relief to consumers. The government said onion production in the kharif season is expected to be around 4.38 million tonnes. This is 17 percent higher than the same period last year.

Only 15% of standing crops damaged

Since early October, onion prices have increased by nearly 45% in Delhi’s retail markets. This was due to fears of a late monsoon in major growing states damaged the standing kharif crop. But data from the Centre shows that standing crops which is only about 15% of the sown area have been damaged in the recent rains.

Food secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said that the average onion price was at Rs 41.5 per kg on October 21, 2021, which was much lower than Rs 55.6 per kg in the year ago period.

He also said that more than 81,000 tonnes of onion from the buffer stock was released in the markets, where rates are going up at a faster pace. This will improve availability and control prices, he added.

From the edible oils perspective, Pandey said data highlighted that there has been a steep decline in retail prices, than the global fall.

He also added that the centre’s decision to scrap basic customs duty and empower states to impose stock limits are yielding results.