Edible oil prices shoot up by 3 to 9% today thanks to government decision to monitor its import by restricting the entry points to a few select ports only. The price of sunflower oil zoomed 9% at Rs 35,500 a tonne, that of groundnut oil by around 4.25% to Rs 36,500 rapeseed oil and cottonseed oils by around 4% to Rs 26,800 and Rs 28,000 respectively. Arrivals of cheaper vanaspati from Nepal all along the eastern border are thus likely to continue unabated. Cheap vanaspati from Nepal has been the biggest competitor for the domestic vanaspati industry. Prices continue to remain depressed in Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and the northern states because of the inflow of Nepalese vanaspati. On the other hand, crude and refined edible oils, genuinely scarce in the country, would now have to face trade barriers in the form of limited port capacities lack of liquid cargo terminals and higher transportation charges. All irrevocable LCs signed before May 2 would also be allowed to ship cargo to all ports, provided the port is specified. However, if a port is not specified in the LC or states "any port in India", then it can only go to ports now stipulated by the government. Deals done on high seas would also be difficult because the responsibility for berthing the ship is usually with the buyer. If the ship is not destined for any of the stipulated ports, it would not be allowed to discharge cargo at other ports. |
Market Update (Oil Seeds) |
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