Cooling edible oil prices, good monsoon stoke AWL's optimism for strong demand

Mint

15-07-2025

New Delhi: AWL Agri Business Ltd (AWL), which sells edible oils, flour and food, expects a significant rise in demand, particularly ahead of the festive season, spurred by a recent cooling in edible oil prices and strong monsoon showers that are key to the rural economy.
This price decline is a direct result of the government's decision to lower duties on crude edible oil imports. Angshu Mallick, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), AWL Agri Business, said in an interview with Mint that the company has fully passed on these price reductions on edible oils to consumers, and is expecting a pickup in demand July onwards.
In the April-June quarter, the maker of Fortune edible oil reported a 5% year-on-year decline in overall volumes, even as the company posted a 21% rise in revenue, reaching ₹ 17,059 crore. The volume dip in the June quarter was largely attributed to edible oil and food.
To be sure, the entire industry experienced a volume contraction in the edible oils category.
Mallick emphasized that the government's decision to slash import duties on crude edible oils on 31 May led to delayed purchases, as buyers awaited price stabilization, hurting overall consumption. 'Due to the import duty cut on 31st of May, the entire trade was waiting, and they wanted to understand the impact of the duty cut, how the prices would be. So, everybody delayed their purchases. As a result, we had an impact due to that,' he said.
Additionally, out-of-home consumption and B2B segments—purchases by other packaged food companies—remained subdued, reflecting a broader slowdown in consumer demand for categories like frying chips and snacks.
Effective 31 May, the basic customs duty on crude soybean oil, crude palm oil and crude sunflower oil was halved to 10%. This change came after over eight months of higher import taxes on these oils. The effective import duty on these three products, which includes basic customs duty and additional fees, now stands at 16.5%, down from the previous 27.5%.
'Price (of edible oil) has come down between 1st April and now by almost 6 to 7%. Palm oil has come down by 14%. Palm (oil) was always costly and because of that the entire out-of-home consumption was also subdued. I am sure July onwards, we will see better consumption story,' he said.
During the quarter, the food segment's performance was significantly impacted by the consolidation of the non-basmati rice business, where the company reduced its geographical footprint to just a few key states, which contributed to lower volumes in this category. The company also sells pulses and besan (gram flour), soya nuggets, sugar and poha (rice flakes).
Revenue from the food and FMCG segment declined 8% year-on-year during the quarter to ₹ 1,414 crore due to multiple headwinds. However, excluding the G2G rice business, revenue from the segment increased by 4% year-on-year.
G2G refers to rice traded under government-to-government agreements, often to meet food security requirements. The G2G business, involving rice sales to government-appointed export agencies, generated ₹ 316 crore in FY25, but was largely discontinued after Q3FY25, the company said in its June quarter earnings.
In the wheat flour category, volumes were affected by soft consumer demand, higher brand premiums and increased local competition. With further planned initiatives, the company anticipates volume growth will continue to exceed industry rates, as stated in its earnings statement.
Looking ahead, Mallick pointed to a rebound during the upcoming festive season.
'Festivals are around the corner—they are early this year. Demand will pick up; along with a good monsoon. Overall, it looks like urban and rural demand will be very robust till December. Prices are stable and these prices are very affordable,' he added.