States told to Implement stock limit order on oilseeds, oil to check prices

To contain the price rise in edible oils and oilseeds, the states have been asked to implement the Centre's stock limit order on the commodities without causing any disruption in the supply chain and impacting the trade, an official release said on Wednesday.

The Union Consumer Affairs Ministry on February 3 notified an order extending the stock limits on edible oils and oilseeds for another three months till June 30 this year and also specified the stock limits.

The ministry reviewed the implementation plan of this order in a meeting with all states and UTs on Tuesday.

"During the meeting, it was emphasized that States/UTs authorities may enforce the Stock Limit Order without causing any disruption in the supply chain and also any undue hardship to bonafide trade," the ministry said in a statement.

"The above measure is expected to curtail any unfair practices like hoarding, black marketing etc. in the market which may lead to any increase in the prices of edible oils," it said.

The states were also briefed about the current international price scenario and how the Indian market is affected by it, the ministry added.

For edible oils, the stock limit specified is 30 quintals for retailers, 500 quintals for wholesalers, 30 quintals for retail outlets of bulk consumers i.e. big chain retailers and shops and 1,000 quintals for its depots. Processors of edible oils would be able to stock 90 days of their storage capacities.

For edible oilseeds, the stock limit is 100 quintals for retailers, 2,000 quintals for wholesalers. Processors of edible oilseeds would be able to stock 90 days production of edible oils as per daily input production capacity.

Exporters and importers have been kept outside the purview of this Order with some caveats.

It was informed in the meeting that in case the stocks held by respective legal entities are higher than the prescribed limits then it has to be declared on the portal of Department of Food & Public Distribution and bring it to the prescribed stock limits in this Control Order within 30 days of the issue of this notification.

The states have also been provided access to this portal for monitoring the disclosed stocks by the entities. The states were advised that they may regularly monitor the stock limits through the portal.

India meets over 60 per cent of its edible oil requirement through imports. The rise in global prices has put pressure on the domestic retail prices for the last few months.