Edible oil spot prices including groundnut oil, RBD palmolein and refined soy oil in the country have weakened by about Rs 30-35 per 10 kg in past few days because of low buying interest, steady inflows of imported oils and reports of higher sowing in soyabean crop.
Refined soya oil spot prices in Mumbai and Indore have fallen by Rs 12-15 per 10 kg to quote at Rs 478 and Rs 492 per 10 kg respectively on Monday while refined soy oil September contracts on NCDEX moved down by Rs 20 per 10 kg to trade around Rs 493 per 10 kg on increased offerings due to higher soya crop. MCX September refined soy oil futures moved down from Rs 499 to 492 per 10 kg last week owing to slight corrections in CBOT (USA) and crude palm oil futures at Bursa Malaysia Derivative exchange. Groundnut oil raw and RBD palm oil spot prices in Mumbai were down by Rs 32-35 per 10 kg to trade around Rs 725 and Rs 458 per 10 kg respectively on Monday mainly to low off-take and steady inflows of imported oils. India?s import of edible oil was about 4.57 lakh tonne in the month of June 2007 whereas it was about 3.88 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
Demand for groundnut oil was low at higher level and some stockists were turned seller, a local trader said. ?The government has reduced import duty on soy oil by 5% also added bearish market sentiments. NAFED is planning to import about 1 lakh tonne of edible oils in October to keep price rise control during the peak demand period. Import could be combination of both CPO and crude soybean oil, but the focus will be more on crude palm oil,? research analyst with Angel Commodities said.
Refined soy oil futures NCDEX August contract also moved down to Rs 492 per 10 kg last week in tandem with weak overseas market and inflows of imported edible oils. Domestic soy meal demands declined owing to outbreak of bird flu in Manipur. The culling of 2.8 lakh birds within a 5 km radius of village in Manipur where an outbreak of bird flu was detected also provided support to bears in the market, sources said.