Groundnut oil price at new high

Millers attribute price rise to lower groundnut production in Gujarat, the retail demand in the domestic market remaines weak

Groundnut oil prices reached a new high to Rs 2,200 per 15-kg tin on Monday with most mills facing a shortage of groundnut for crushing.

During the last three days, price of the oil has increased by over Rs 50 per tin. While the millers attributed the price rise to lower groundnut production in the state, the retail demand in the domestic market remained weak.

“As this year, groundnut crop has almost failed in Gujarat due to poor monsoon, arrival of groundnut is very poor. Currently, hardly 15,000 bags (40 kg each) of groundnut arrive every day in Gujarat. That is not enough for millers. Moreover, peanut traders are also buying around 50 per cent of the arrivals. In this condition, we are having shortage of nuts for crushing,” said Ravjibhai Mandanaka, president of Gondal Oil Mills Association.

Groundnut oil loose traded at Rs 1,300-1,310 per 10 kg while teliya tin (15 kg unrefined) stood at Rs 1,995-2,000 per 15-kg tin. Refined groundnut oil for 15-kg new tin was quoted at Rs 2,200 in Rajkot on Monday. Trading of groundnut oil from Saurashtra’s mills is about 80-100 tonnes per day.

At the beginning of the edible oil year, in October, groundnut arrival was around 7,000-8,000 bags per day. Gradually, this increased to 60,000-70,000 bags per day. But now it has decreased to 15,000-17,000 bags a day. Short arrival has also pushed up groundnut prices to Rs 1,100-1,150 per 20 kg.

Samir Shah, president of Saurashtra Oil Mills Association, said, “The price of groundnut oil has gone up because sellers are not able to fulfill the demand as they do not have enough availability of groundnut for crushing.”

Due to lower availability of groundnut, hardly 25-30 groundnut oil mills are operational in the Saurashtra region. According to Shah and Mandanaka, groundnut oil prices may go up to Rs 2,300 per tin (15 kg) in the near future.