Coconut oil prices continue to boil with its retail prices reaching ₹410 per litre, up ₹80 in the past week.

Citing declining production of copra as a reason for prices to surge, Thalath Mahmood, president of Cochin Oil Merchant Association (COMA) told businesslinethat the surging price has hit local demand with a reported sales drop of 10-20 per cent. Consumers started looking for other cheaper options such as palmolein and sunflower oil with its prices ruling at ₹130 and ₹150, respectively. Kerala is the only State which uses coconut oil for cooking purposes.

Copra prices also moved northwards to touch ₹231 per kg in Kerala market, while the Tamil Nadu rates stood at ₹227.

Adulteration rears its head

However, he said the Israel-Iran conflict is likely to push up the cost of these edible oils as imports become costlier because of the anticipated hike in freight rates. He alleged that the rising coconut oil price has also led to the availability of inferior and adulterated oils in the market, manufactured by solvent extraction, low-quality and fungus-hit copra in the domestic market.

He also requested the government to take necessary steps to curb the sale of adulterated coconut oil in the market.  

The association will soon approach the Centre to lift import restrictions of coconut oil and copra in view of the crisis being faced by the industry due to acute shortage of the raw material.

K.K.Devraj, a consultant in the industry, pointed out that the presence of adulterated coconut was becoming rampant and the recent banning of 42 brands of coconut oil was a welcome step. The shortage of copra and coconuts is likely to push the prices of coconut oil to ₹500 by Onam. But the recent reduction in import duty on crude vegetable oils may control this upward trend, he said.

Raw coconut prices shoot up

Palmolein, which is widely used in Kerala, has started showing a downward trend, and the ripple effect will be there in the coconut oil market as well, especially since the price difference between coconut oil and other vegetable oils will push down coconut oil prices.

It would be healthy for coconut oil prices to come down to reasonable levels since reverse shifting of consumers from sunflower oil and blended oil back to coconut oil may not take place as expected. Ultimately, the coconut oil industry which largely depends on the edible user segment may be the loser in the long run, he said. 

Official sources said that raw coconut prices have reached ₹70 per kg due to declining production. Exports of coconut and other value added products are on the rise to cater to the increased demand, thanks to signing of FTA’s. 

Published on June 17, 2025