The Centre said on Wednesday (September 18, 2024) that it does not expect an increase in prices of essential commodities such as sugar and edible oils during the festival season. Talking to reporters on decisions taken by the Food Ministry in the first 100 days of the NDA government, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said the recent decision to increase basic customs duty on some edible oils is meant to help oilseed farmers and it will not lead to a significant price rise. “We have been able to maintain prices at a reasonable level for consumers,” Mr. Chopra said.

He added that the festival season is “looking good.” “We are not anticipating any kind of spike in prices of essentials.” The Centre raised basic customs duty on crude soyabean oil, palm oil, and sunflower oil to 20% from nil. The duty on refined edible oils was increased to 32.5% from 12.5%. Mr. Chopra said 1.3 million tonnes of edible oils imported at zero duty are still in stock. “Industry has been directed to sell this inventory at current prices until exhausted. Even after this stock exhausts, prices need not rise by 20% with an increase in duty. International prices will come down slightly,” Mr. Chopra said.

Mr. Chopra also announced that wheat allocation to beneficiaries under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) will be increased from October. He hoped that the move would stabilise prices of wheat. An additional 3.5 million tonnes of wheat will be distributed under the PMGKAY. “This increased allocation will continue until March 2025,” he said.

The Food Secretary said the Centre is thinking of lifting the export ban on certain varieties of non-basmati rice. “It is under consideration. These things are dynamic, and we will take an appropriate decision depending on the requirement and stocks available,” Mr. Chopra said.