A week after the Union Food Ministry diktat, oil prices have eased marginally in the wholesale market. Groundnut oil price eased from ₹ 187.93 to ₹ 187.5 between July 6 and July 12, Vanaspati which was ₹ 161.49 on July 6 was quoted at ₹ 160.22. Only palm oil eased a wee bit more from ₹ 144.16 to ₹ 142.29.
“The situation is way better than last year when we bought palmolein oil for ₹ 160 a litre. Now it is ₹ 138 per litre in the wholesale market. Our margins are decent,” says Manotosh, showing an oil sachet of a little-known brand. He runs an exclusive small samosa outlet in Hyderguda and uses four litres of oil per day.
But for retail consumers and food businesses, the prices have not eased substantially. In the retail market the branded palmolein oil was retailing at ₹ 185 per litre, groundnut oil was retailing between ₹ 174 and ₹ 190, while sunflower oil was retailing between ₹ 188 and ₹ 178.
