New Delhi: In a move that promises immediate relief for household budgets ahead of the festive season, the Union Food Ministry has directed edible oil companies to reduce their Maximum Retail Price (MRP). The strict directive follows the Centre’s recent decision to significantly slash import duties on various cooking oils, aiming to keep domestic retail prices in check.
According to an official advisory issued by the Food Ministry, all industry stakeholders and edible oil associations have been instructed to ensure that the full benefit of the reduced import tariffs reaches the end consumer without any delay.
“An advisory has been issued to entities and industry stakeholders associated with edible oils to ensure that the full benefit of the import duty cut is passed on to the customers,” an official statement from the ministry read.
The government emphasised that it will continue to closely monitor price fluctuations in both international and domestic markets. Officials noted that further steps will be taken if necessary, maintaining a careful balance between the interests of consumers, farmers, and the domestic edible oil industry.
The government’s intervention comes at a crucial time, just before major festivals when domestic consumption of cooking oil peaks. Earlier on Wednesday, the Centre announced substantial cuts in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) across multiple edible oil categories. The BCD on crude sunflower oil has been eliminated entirely, dropping from 10 per cent to zero. Similarly, duties on crude soybean oil and crude palm oil have been reduced from 10 per cent to 5 per cent. For refined variants of sunflower and palm oil, the duty has been revised downwards from 32.5 per cent to 27.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), a leading edible oil industry body, projects that India’s edible oil import bill could rise by 9 per cent to reach Rs 1.75 trillion for the current marketing year ending October 2026. The association attributes this potential increase to higher import volumes and the depreciation of the rupee.
Industry data indicates that vegetable oil imports grew by 4 per cent between November and August of the 2025-26 cycle, touching 13.88 million tonnes compared to 13.37 million tonnes during the same period last year. India heavily relies on imports to meet its domestic demand, primarily sourcing palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soybean oil is largely imported from Argentina and Brazil.
Following the ministry’s firm stance and the revised tariff structure, consumers can expect a noticeable drop in retail cooking oil prices in the coming weeks.