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Govt lifts stock restrictions on edible oil for wholesale traders
The exemption on stock limits will also apply to big-chain suppliers and super markets, the government added, in a move aimed at easing tight controls over stocking of edible oils due to high prices
New Delhi: The Union government said in a notification issued Tuesday that it has lifted restrictions on stocks of edible oil wholesalers can store owing to an increase in global supplies and stable domestic prices.
The exemption on stock limits will also apply to big-chain suppliers and super markets, the government added, in a move aimed at easing tight controls over stocking of edible oils due to high prices.
The government imposes stock limits under relevant consumer laws to bar traders from stockpiling huge reserves of a commodity, thereby helping to improve supplies in retail markets as a way to control inflation.
Global supply disruptions due to the knock-on effects of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine sent edible oil prices spiraling in the first half of this year to their highest levels in a decade. Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of sunflower oil. India imports up to 70% of its annual edible oil requirement.
“As the price situation of major edible oils is now witnessing a gradual reversal as there is considerable decline in the prices of edible oil in the international market as well as the domestic market, the stock limit order was reviewed,” a press statement by the consumer affairs ministry said.
The government said a “need was felt” to exempt big-chain retailers and wholesalers from the stock control order following reports that bulk traders were facing supply problems due to restrictions. The limits specified for them was very less and replacement of shelf stocks in city limits is not possible on everyday basis, the statement said.
In May, the Union government allowed duty-free import of 2 million tonne each of crude (unrefined) soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil for 2022-23 and 2023-24, among a series of steps to cool runaway inflation. High vegetable oil prices this year have been a big burden on household food budgets.
India imports about 8 million tonnes of palm oil annually and the commodity accounts for nearly a 40% share of its overall edible oil consumption basket. Apart from domestic use, edible oils are used in most manufactured food products, from noodles to ice-cream.
