New Delhi: The common man is hurting due to the sharp rise in prices of essential commodities like edible oil and LPG in the last two years.
In Kolkata for instance, edible oil prices have nearly doubled in the last two years. Mustard oil which was Rs 90 a litre in May 2019 is now selling at Rs 190 a litre while rice bran oil which was Rs 80 a litre is now at Rs 150 per litre.
Similarly, groundnut oil is touching Rs 200 a litre in May this year compared to Rs 156 in 2019. Soybean oil is at Rs 140 compared to Rs 95 a litre in 2019.
Sunflower oil is being sold in Kolkata at Rs 180 a litre as against Rs 102 a litre in 2019.
It is not only edible oil which is on fire. The cooking fuel, LPG is also flaring up as 14.2 kg cylinder in Kolkata is now at a whopping Rs 835 compared to Rs 496 in February of 2019.
LPG cylinder prices have been going up in the last two years. They touched Rs 499 in May 2019, Rs 620 in August 2020, Rs 720 in January 2021 and Rs 835 in May 2021.
Edible oil stock stuck at ports
Early this week, Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey expressed hope that retail prices of edible oils would soften following the release of imported stock that was stuck at Kandla and Mundra ports due to clearance issues.
"That problem has been addressed along with customs and FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). With that stock getting released in the market, we hope to see the softening impact on the oil prices," he told in a virtual press conference on Monday.
(With IANS Inputs)
