Mustard, lentils prices have declined, Centre tells Lok Sabha

The Government has said prices of several food products, including mustard oil and lentils, have been lower than the previous year.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, said the all-India average retail prices of mustard oil and lentils declined by 18.32 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, as of December 12 compared with last year. “Similarly, the prices of soya oil, sunflower oil, vanaspati, palm oil and potato have been lower than previous year,” he said.

Prices and availability situation of essential commodities are reviewed on a regular basis and necessary measures are being taken to ensure the availability of essential commodities to consumers at affordable prices.

He said the Department of Consumer Affairs monitors the daily retail and wholesale prices of 22 essential food commodities, including the prices of vegetables such as onion, tomato and potato, submitted by the 550 price monitoring centres spread across the country.

The mechanism for monitoring the prices of essential commodities has been strengthened by increasing the number of price reporting centres from 64 in 2014 to 550 in 2023 (till November) across the country, he said.

Prices of food commodities tend to be volatile as they are affected by several factors such as seasonality in production, supply chain disruptions, artificial shortages created by hoarding and black marketing, rise in international prices, etc. Sometimes slight disruptions in the supply chain or damage due to heavy rains lead to spike in the prices of agri-horticultural commodities. Conversely, bulk arrivals and logistics problems have the potential to create a glut in the market and a resultant dip in retail prices, the Minister said.

Bangla duty hits orange exports

To a query on the export of oranges to Bangladesh, Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce and Industry Minister, said the increase in import duty rates by Bangladesh has affected India’s export of oranges. The total export of oranges declined to 73,157.88 tonnes in 2022-23 from 1,19,548.04 tonnes in 2021-22.

The total tax incidence (TTI) for oranges was 89.32 per cent before the 2021-22 Bangladesh budget. With a 20 per cent SAFTA rebate, effective duty was 69.32 per cent. He said the 2021-22 Bangladesh budget introduced a 20 per cent regulatory duty on oranges, increasing TTI to 113.8 per cent, resulting in effective duty rate of 93.8 per cent.

Though Bangladesh is a major export destination for Indian oranges, the volume of export is less than 2 per cent of total production. Impact on domestic prices of oranges due to lower exports is unlikely, he said.

Banganapalli mangoes shipments up

To a question on the export of Bangapalli mangoes, the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Anupriya Patel, said India exported 899.67 tonnes valued $2.81 million during April-September 2023-24. India exported 856.91 tonnes valued $2 million during 2022-23, she said.

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has the mandate to promote export of mangoes.

APEDA has launched a comprehensive pack house recognition scheme for export of fruits and vegetables, including mangoes, with the objective to preserve the quality of produce. APEDA has registered 214 pack houses for processing of fresh fruits and vegetables, including mangoes, for export to identified markets, she said.

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