Ukraine war effect: Edible oil prices go up by 10-15%
Vijay C Roy
Chandigarh, March 2
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has started impacting the household budget as prices of edible oil has increased by 10-15 per cent per kilogramme across the region and Punjab is no exception. The state consumes around 43,000 tonnes of edible oil per month.
Sunflower oil supply hit
Edible oil prices have gone northwards because there is a gap in sunflower oil supply from Ukraine that has affected the entire kitty of the edible oil sector. AR Sharma, Ricela group Chairman
According to distributors and solvent extractors, the war comes at a time when inflation in edible oil is a major concern in the domestic market. In the December quarter alone, edible oil prices surged by 30 per cent on an average due to repeated price hikes in the international markets and steep rise in logistics cost.
Stop imports
It is high time that India should rethink about its dependency for edible oils on other countries.
According to the data, India’s total consumption of edible oils is about 240 lakh tonnes, of which domestic production stands at about 90 lakh tonnes and the deficit of about 150 lakh tonnes is met through import. So, India is hugely dependent on imports in terms of edible oil, so any disruption is bound to impact the domestic oil prices.
As there is a supply chain disruptions especially of sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine, wholesalers and retailers have jacked the prices of all oils.
“Edible oil prices have gone northwards because there is a gap in sunflower oil supply from Ukraine that has affected the entire kitty of the edible oil sector. Currently, the gap is being filled by imported soyabean and palm oil, prices of which has already been increased and that has impacted the domestically produced oil such as mustard and rice bran oil,” Sangrur-based Ricela Group chairman AR Sharma said.
“Supply is not a problem but the price has been influenced by other imported oils. So, on an average the prices of edible oil have increased by 10-15 per cent after Russian invasion,” he added.
India imports over 80% (25-30 lakh metric tonnes per annum) of its sunflower oil requirement from Russia and Ukraine. The country’s dependence on sunflower oil is around 15 per cent of all oils.
“The price is changing on daily basis. As the prices of loose oil or locally produced oil by solvent extractors has risen so the branded one. On an average the prices of edible oil have risen by around 15 per cent after the conflict,”said Ashish Kumar, a edible oil distributor.
