CHENNAI: Cooking oil prices have risen sharply in the domestic market amid the war in West Asia, according to a Daily Thanthi report.
The price of sunflower oil, which was around Rs. 155 per litre last month, has increased to Rs. 170 per litre.
Similarly, palm oil prices have risen from Rs. 110 per litre to Rs. 122 per litre.
Prices of other edible oils such as groundnut oil, safflower oil and coconut oil have also increased by Rs. 2 to Rs. 4 per litre.
India imports a significant portion of its edible oils, including sunflower oil and palm oil, mainly from countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines.
On average, about 6 lakh tonnes of palm oil, 3 lakh tonnes of soybean oil, and 1 lakh tonnes of sunflower oil are imported every month.
Earlier, the import duty on edible oils was fixed at 26.5%. However, the Union government reduced it to 16.5% in June last year, which led to a decline of around Rs. 10 per litre in the prices of sunflower oil and palm oil.