
Center slashes basic custom duty on crude edible oils to 10%; Aims to reduce retail prices

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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business Standard
Broken rice to fuel ethanol supply as govt eyes E27, E30 blending
Government to auction surplus broken rice for ethanol from 2025 in five states as it frames a roadmap towards higher blends like E27 or E30 after achieving E20 ahead of schedule Deepak Patel New Delhi Listen to This Article Achieving E20 blending by 2025, five years ahead of the earlier 2030 deadline, is a 'great achievement,' and a government committee is now preparing the roadmap beyond E20, towards E27 or E30, Sanjeev Chopra, secretary in the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, said on Monday at a SIAM event. His remarks come amid heightened social media discussions about the impact of E20 fuel on the fuel efficiency and engines of cars. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said last Friday that no engine failures had been reported since the E20 blend's rollout and that the performance


New Indian Express
6 days ago
- New Indian Express
Low demand in other states leaves Odisha with huge surplus of parboiled rice, storage woes for millers
BHUBANESWAR: In what could pose a major problem for Odisha government which is struggling with a huge surplus rice stock, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has informed that lifting of parboiled rice by Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been severely impacted due to low demand in the consuming states. Clarifying the constraints faced by FCI in the monthly rice movement from Odisha as per the action plan, the ministry said three major consuming states of parboiled rice - Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand - have now become rice surplus and meeting their internal demand from their own procurement under the decentralised procurement system (DCP). Movement of rice from Odisha largely depends on the requirement of the three states. As per the annual action plan prepared by FCI for Odisha, the total rice offtake for the kharif marketing season 2024-25 has been fixed at 50 lakh tonne as against the actual production of 62 lakh tonne. After taking the internal consumption and supply under public distribution system at 24 lakh tonne, the state is having a surplus of 26 lakh tonne for evacuation by FCI. 'The central agency has so far lifted 14.33 lakh tonne till the end of July leaving a stockpile of nearly 12 lakh tonne with the rice millers. The state government has lifted 16 lakh tonne for distribution under PDS and balance stock of eight lakh tonne is with the millers who are facing a gigantic problem of storage,' said general secretary of All Odisha Rice Millers Association Laxminarayan Deepak Ranjan Das.


India.com
7 days ago
- India.com
Centre To Start Releasing Onion From 3 Lakh Tonnes Buffer Stock Next Month With Eye On Prices
New Delhi: The government has procured 3 lakh tonnes of onion this year for its price stabilisation buffer, and a calibrated release from the stocks is expected to start from September in order to keep prices under control, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution said on Friday. Pertinently, unlike previous years, prices of major vegetables like potato, onion and tomato are under control this monsoon season. In the case of potato and onion, higher production in 2024-25 over the previous year ensures sufficient supply and a substantially lower retail price than last year, the statement said. "Food commodity prices have largely remained stable and well-contained throughout the current calendar year. As of today, the prices of most commodities monitored by the Department of Consumer Affairs are exhibiting either a stable or declining trend on a year-on-year basis. The reported 14 per cent decrease in the cost of a homemade thali in July 2025 further reflects the continued moderation of food inflation during the month," the ministry said in a statement. The retail prices of tomatoes prevailing at various centres across the country are influenced by temporary localised factors rather than any fundamental demand-supply imbalance or production shortfall, the statement said. In this context, the National Cooperative Consumers' Federation of India (NCCF) has been procuring tomatoes from Azadpur Mandi since August 4 and is selling them to consumers at prices with minimal margins. A similar initiative was undertaken by the NCCF in previous years as well. To date, the NCCF has sold 27,307 kgs of tomatoes at retail prices ranging from Rs 47 to Rs 60 per kg, depending on the procurement cost. Retail sales are being conducted through the NCCF's stationary outlets at Nehru Place, Udyog Bhawan, Patel Chowk, and Rajiv Chowk, as well as through 6–7 mobile vans operating at various locations across the city, according to the official statement. The current average retail price of tomatoes in Delhi, at Rs 73 per kg, is primarily the result of heavy rainfall in the northern and north-western regions of the country since the last week of July. This weather-related disruption caused prices to spike to as high as Rs 85 per kg by the end of July. However, with the recovery and stabilisation of daily arrivals at the Azadpur mandi over the past week, both mandi and retail prices have begun to decline. In contrast, major cities such as Chennai and Mumbai, which have not experienced abnormal weather conditions in recent weeks, have not witnessed a similar price surge. The current average retail prices of tomatoes in Chennai and Mumbai are Rs 50 per kg and Rs 58 per kg, respectively -- substantially lower than the prevailing price in Delhi. At present, the all-India average retail prices of tomato is Rs 52 per kg, which is still lower than Rs 54 per kg last year and Rs 136 per kg in 2023, the statement added.