Reuters India's wheat plantings remained steady despite a rally in price of the staple to a record as farmers in a key producing central state shifted to rapeseed (mustard) to take advantage of even higher prices for the oilseed, farm ministry data showed on Monday. A lower-than-expected planting area in the world's second biggest wheat producer may cap an expected rise in production, after output fell last year because of a heatwave...

There is some respite expected for India in terms of prices of imported commodities. This may ease the depletion of its foreign exchange reserves. The country has faced a widening of its merchandise trade deficit from US$ -17.91 billion to US$ -26.91 billion between October 2021 and October 2022. The commodity price data provided by the World Bank in December 2022 (termed as The Pink Sheet) shows that energy prices plummeted by...

-Hindustan Times The exemption on stock limits will also apply to big-chain suppliers and super markets, the government added, in a move aimed at easing tight controls over stocking of edible oils due to high prices New Delhi: The Union government said in a notification issued Tuesday that it has lifted restrictions on stocks of edible oil wholesalers can store owing to an increase in global supplies and stable domestic prices. The exemption...

-Livemint.com The government had in October 2021 announced concessional import duty on crude soybean oil, crude palm oil and crude sunflower oil till March 2022, which was once extended till end of September. This has now again been extended till next March, as per the order. NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has extended concessional basic customs duty and agriculture and infrastructure development cess applicable on edible oils by six months till end...

-Down to Earth blog Palm oil is water-intensive and requires large patches of land India is the second-largest consumer of edible oil globally and its largest importer. While the government has taken several initiatives over the years to increase the domestic production of edible oils, its shortage and high price are often in the news. Palm oil production grew between 2015-2016 and 2020-2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 per cent,...