According to data from retail intelligence platform Bizom, most cooking oils costs in India surged in February as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, with branded sunflower, vanaspati, mustard, and groundnut oil prices rising month over month.
Ukraine and Russia are two of the most important exporters of sunflower oil, meeting a large portion of the global demand for edible oil.
Consumption Of SunFlower Oil in India
Sunflower oil is consumed in India at a rate of 2.5-3 million tonnes per year. Ukraine accounts for over 70% of this. According to a Reuters article, Ukraine and Russia combined supplied over 13 percent of India's edible oil imports in 2021, totaling 1.6 million tonnes.
Edible Oil Prices Hike
In India, packaged sunflower oil prices increased by 4% in February, while mustard oil prices increased by 8.7%. Soybean oil prices declined by 0.4 percent, while vanaspati prices increased by 2.7 percent.
The price of groundnut oil increased by 1%. After a time of high costs, palm oil, which is commonly used in India, experienced a 12.9 percent decline in price. Palm oil prices, however, are still up 22.9 percent from February 2020.
Bizom analyses packaged consumer goods sales in India's 7.5 million retail locations.
Between September and December, the price of edible oil in India had fallen somewhat. According to Bizom statistics from January, prices have eased by 10-30% from their high two years ago.
However, the situation in Ukraine, which began in late February, increased the demand for critical goods such as cooking oil.
"Sunflower oil, a significant import from Ukraine, has witnessed rapid price increases. "As the war drags on and sanctions are put on Russia, more pricing pressures may be on the horizon," D'Souza added.
The data for March has yet to be released by Bizom.
In an India Consumer Price Tracker study issued on March 17, Kunal Vora, Head of India Equity Research at BNP Paribas India, stated that edible oil prices had grown 15-20% year on year. "According to our latest inspections, prices are anticipated to rise again due to a recent spike in edible oil costs," Vora said. Most edible oil prices are still higher than pre-covid levels.
