The major players in the branded and packaged edible oils market, such as ITC Conagra, National Dairy Development Board, Marico Industries and Godrej Foods, among others, are likely to take a decision on this soon, industry observers said.

Marico Industries chief executive officer (health care division) Pranab Datta, when contacted, said: "We are looking at increasing prices as import duties have effectively gone up." However, the extent to which the price will be raised is yet to be worked out.

As per ORG-Marg's retail audit data, the total size of the refined oils in consumer packs market is 21,000 tonne per annum. Sunflower oil constitutes about 60 per cent of the total market, and is growing at about 10 per cent annually.

Import duties on sunflower oils have been raised to 35 per cent from 27.5 per cent. Domestic players have been asking for a duty hike on imported edible oils which had become a cause for concern. Of the total edible oils consumed in the country - pegged at about 10 million tonne - nearly 45 per cent is imported.

Due to declining raw material prices, the industry had dropped prices early this year. Plummeting raw material prices have also had an impact on companies' margins.

Most edible oils experienced a steep decline in prices during the financial year 2000. This resulted in manufacturers lowering their retail prices. The maximum retail price (MRP) of Marico's Sweekar, for instance, had reduced to Rs 40 per litre from Rs 50 per litre in April 2000. The current price of Sweekar is Rs 42 per litre.

The increase in MRP comes in the wake of a raw material price increase. The prices are likely to further go up now due to the import duty hikes. The market share of Sweekar stands at 7 per cent in volumes of the sunflower oil market.