Russia-Ukraine conflict: Edible oil prices go up, people queue up to buy petrol in Punjab
India Today
The attack on Ukraine has jolted the oil market around the world as well as in India. Distributors in Punjab believe speculation triggered a price rise for materials such as pig iron and edible oil.
Despite the opinion given by the industry experts that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will have least impact on the Indian economy, the rumours and speculation have already triggered a rise in edible oil, pig iron and shipping costs in the Indian markets.
India imports 17 lakh tonnes and two lakh tonnes of sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia respectively. It has not impacted the edible oil industry so far, but distributors are gaining higher profits. It was revealed that the edible oil prices are already up by Rs 15 per litre in the Punjab market.
Interestingly, while sunflower oil prices are stable, the prices of other edible oils have risen to higher levels.
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"Yes, the war has impacted the edible oil industry, palm oil, and soya oil prices are up. Prices of sunflower oil (imported from Ukraine) are stable but market sources say that the prices could go up," said Mahavir Kumar, a Chandigarh-based edible oil distributor.
Another distributor, Sandeep Kumar, is hesitant to link the price rise to the Russia-Ukraine war. The prices are rising and we witnessed a rise of Rs 10 per litre, but it will not be justifiable to attribute the price rise to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Sandeep said.
The speculation has also resulted in panic buying and is not just limited to edible oil prices. People were seen crowding the petrol and diesel stations in Punjab after the rumours that the conflict could hit oil prices.
