Cooking likely to get cheaper as Centre cuts customs duty on edible oils

Duty on crude soybean and palm oils has been cut from 10% to 5%, while that on refined varieties has been reduced from 32.5% to 27.5%.

Cooking oil is likely to become cheaper after the Centre reduced the basic customs duty (BCD) on several edible oils.

India has cut the basic import duty on crude and refined edible oils, including palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil, the government said in a notification (REUTERS)

The duty cuts will be effective from September 24, the finance ministry said in a notification, according to ANI.

The duty on crude soybean oil and crude palm oil has reportedly been cut from 10% to 5%, while the duty on refined soybean oil and refined palm oil has been reduced from 32.5% to 27.5% .

The government has also reportedly abolished the duty on crude sunflower oil, reducing it from 10% to nil. The duty on refined sunflower oil has been lowered from 32.5% to 22.5%.

The duty cuts are expected to reduce the import cost of edible oils, potentially easing prices for consumers, depending on how the reduction is passed through the supply chain.

The increase in Indian demand could also support benchmark Malaysian palm oil and US soyoil futures, analysts said.

India imports nearly two-thirds of its vegetable oil requirements, mainly palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil, from countries including Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Russia and Ukraine, according to Reuters.