Lok Sabha Question No. 2522 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-16
Subject: Subsidy for Edible Oil
Ministry: CONSUMER AFFAIRS, FOOD AND PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION
Asked by: Sajda Ahmed

(a) & (b): No Sir.

(c), (d) and (e): The Government monitors  the retail and wholesate prices  of 22 essential  food commoditaes inctuding edibte oils submitted by the 179 price monitoring  centres that have been set up with Gentra! assistance by state Governments and ur  Administrations  across the country.

## GOVERNMENT OF TNDIA

## MIN|STRY  OF CONSUMER  AFFAIRS, FOOD &  pUBLtC  DISTR|BUTION DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND PUBLIC DTSTRIBUTION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2522 TO BE ANSWERED  ON {6r'{ MARGH,  2022

## SUBSIDY FOR EDIBLE OIL

## 2522. SHRTMATI SAJDA AHMED:

Will the Minister  of GONSUITIER  AFFAIRS, FOOD AND  pUBLtc DISTRIBUTION  Bqt}ftil  grrd,  Efg .fii  srffi6 n-ct"r ,m be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the Government proposes  to offer subsidy for edibte oirs;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has assessed the impact of continued increase in prices of edible oils;
- (d) af so, the steps taken by the Government to lower the price of edible oils; and
- (e) the measures taken by the Government to contro! the sharp rise of food prices  during the last one year?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINTSTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS,  FOOD & PUBLIG DISTRTBUTIOI{

(sADHVt  ]{IRANJAN JYOTT)

Taking into account price trends, the Government  takes various measures  from time to time to augment domestic  availability and stabilize prices of essentiat  food commodities.  These sreps, inter atia, include  releases from the buffer to coor down prices, imposition  of stock limitsr monitoring  of stocks dectared by entities to prevent hoarding  as also requisite  changes in trade policy  instruments  like rationatization  of import duty, changes in import quota, restristions  on exports of the commodity  etc. /

!n order to improve  the domestic avairabirity  and to keep prices  of edible oils under control,  the Government has boen rationalizing  the duty structure on edible oits during 20/21-22 to reduce the price burden of l common man. The following measures  have been taken:

- o ln a bid to contror the continuous  rise in the cooking oir prices since past one year,  the Gentrar Government has cut the basic duty on Grude Palm oil, Grude soyabean  oir and Grude sunflower oir from 2.5% to Nil. The Agri-cess  on these Oils has been biought to 5o/o .
- a The basic duty on Refined soyabean  oit and Refined sunflower oi! has been slashed lo 17.5o/o  from the curent 32.s9zo and the basic duty on Refined  Palm Oils has been reduced ftrom 17.S.yo.lo 12.5o/o
- The Government has extended the free import of Refined  patm  oirs for a period  upto 31.12.20,22
- The current basic rate of impo* duty of zero percent on Grude  patm oil, Grude soyabean  oir and Grude sunfrower oit has been extended upto 3On September,  2022 and the rate of import duty on Refined  palm oils at 12,50/"2 Refined soyabean oit and Refinetl sunflower  oil al 17.sh has also been extended up to 30tr Septemberl?.O?.2.
- NCDEX has been suspended and stock timits have been imposed. a
- To control prices of edibre oits, futures trading in mustard  oir on
- The Department  of Food and  pubric  Distribution  had imposed  stock limits on Edible oirs and oirseeds w.e.f.  grh  october, zo21 tor a period up to 3l't March,2O22.
- Further, an amended  order  srhe  Removar of Licensing  Requirements, stock Limits ind . Movement Restrictions .on specified Foodstuffs (Amendment) Order, 2A22 has been notified w.o.f. O3d February,2OZ2 speciflring  the quantities of stock Iimits of ed:t,le oi! & oit-seeds  , to be implemented by all statos/urts,  This order has'tseen issued to ensure the smooth availability of edible oils and oi!-seeds an the country,

The Govemment  of tndia has been implemenfing  a Gentralty sponsored  scheme, Nationat Food security  Mission- oitseeds & oir parm (NFsu'os&oP) from 20{8-{9 to augment  the avairabirigr  of vegetabre oils and to reduce the impod of edibre oirs by increasing  the proiuction and productivity  of oirseeds  and area expansion of oit  patm  & Tree Borne Ollseeds in the country.

Now, the Government has launched a separate Mission for oir  parm, which is the Nationar Mission for Edibte oirs (oir  parm).  l{MEo (op) to promote  oil parm  curtivation for making  the country Atmanirbhar in edible oils with special focus on ilorth-Eastern  states and Andaman and 1{icobar lslands.

ln Mayr 20,21 advisories were issued  to states/urs  to monitor prices  of essentiar  food commodities and to ensure  disclosure  of pulses stocks held by millers, irnporters and traders under the Essentaal conirmodities  Act, {g55. lmposition  of stock timit on ar! putses except lUloong  was notified on 2.I.2O21.  Thereafter,  an amended  order was issued on 19.7.2O21 imposang stock timits on four pulses,  namety, Tur, Urad, Masur, Ghana for a period up to 3l .1O.2O21  .

To improve availability and stabilise prices  of  putses,  the Government has atrowed import of rur, Urad and Moong under  .Free categoryt w.e.f May ls, zo21 titt october gi, 2oz1 in order to ensure smooth and seamless imports. The Free regime was thereafter extended for Tur and urad tirr March  r1r 2o22l' the last date for Biil of Lading is March 31, 2o22, and for Gustoms  crearance,  it is June  go,2022.  rn order to soften the impact  of higher internationar  prices  on domestic consumefs,  the Government reduced  the basic import duty on tasur fuom 1oo/o to zero and ArDc (Agricurture  tnfrastructure and Deveropment Gess) from 2oo/o to 1oo/o rrom 27th Jury, 2o21. To augment  the avairabirity of pulses in the market, 3 lakh Metric Ton of Ghana stock has been released between June and August, 2ozi through open market sates and to stabilise  prices, futures trading  in Ghana has been suspended  from l6th Augustr 2o2{. state Governments  have been supptaed purses  from the buffer on an ongoing basis for their nutrition and werfare programmes.

ln order to stabilise retail prices of onion, a buffer stock of 2.OB LIIIT onion has been built in 20.21- 22. Open market releases of onion from the buffer had been targeted towards States/Gities where  prices are increasing  oyer the previous month and also in source markets to augment their availability  in these key mandis and thereby reduce retail prices. States/UTs  had been offered onion at  Rs.2{/kg ex-storage tocations and same has been lifted by some States. Through these measures, the  Government has made effective interventions for containing the prices of onion.

Futther, the Government  has issued advisory to States/UTs  to set up the State-level Price Stabilisation  Fund (PSF) corpus with central assistance, and has requested States which have set up the Fund already, to make appropriate interventions for cooling down retail prices of essential  food commodities.