India has extended the restrictions on oilseeds and edible oils that traders and processors can keep to curb accumulation.
According to one of the ministries concerned, a storage limit of 100 tonnes of oil has been imposed on the stocks of large network traders. Wholesalers and retailers can hold 50 tonnes and 3 tonnes of edible oil, respectively – the decree is valid until 30 June.
The government’s stance is aimed at bringing down oil prices as the world’s largest buyer of the product seeks to curb domestic food inflation.
India is the world’s largest importer of vegetable oil, spending an average of $8.5 billion to $10 billion a year to buy the products.
The country consumes about 24 million tonnes of edible oil annually. Nearly half of this volume is produced domestically.
The rest is imported palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, soybean oil from Brazil and Argentina, sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine.