Guwahati: Prices of petrol, diesel, vegetables, oil and other essential commodities have gone up rapidly in Assam along with the rest of India. The spurt in prices has triggered inflation fears and is putting a burden on common people.
The price of mustard oil has risen from Rs. 5 to Rs. 35. Now a liter of mustard oil costs anywhere from Rs 220 to Rs 255.
As per market reports, the Sunflower brand of mustard oil rose up by Rs. 20 per litre, Dhara brand of mustard oil rose up by Rs. 15 per litre, Gokul brand of mustard oil rose up by Rs. 10 per litre while Anupam and Engine brand of mustard oil rose up by Rs. 6 per litre respectively.
Not only mustard oil but also the prices of other edible oils like soyabean oil, rice bran, vegetable oil and plum oil are also touching record highs.
Speaking to the media one of the retailers from Kaziranga said, “The price of mustard oil has rapidly gone high. 3-4 days ago, the price of ordinary Mustard oil per litre was Rs. 142, however, today it stands at Rs 148 at the wholesale rate. Further, he added that the price of mustard oil has gone up by Rs. 7-8 while for refined oil, the price went up by Rs. 5 respectively. We are buying mustard oil on the basis of new rates and thus we have to sell it based on the revised rates.”
Reacting to the ongoing price hike of mustard oil a consumer said, “Yesterday, I bought a litre of mustard oil for Rs. 150 but today it’s Rs. 160, just see the difference in one day. If this way the price goes up, we the middle-class people won’t be able to survive. We request the Assam food and civil supply minister to look into the matter and come up with a solution as soon as possible.”
The prices of edible oils such as sunflower oil, peanut oil, canola oil, sesame oil, coconut oil, soybean oil, mustard oil, palm oil, and olive oil have increased 50-70% in the past few months from their pre-Covid levels. Sunflower, peanut and mustard oil were identified as the most used cooking oils in India.
The country, which is dependent on the imports of edible oil to meet over 60 per cent of its domestic demand, has seen a sharp rise in retail prices of various types of cooking oils in the last couple of months due to the global geopolitical situation. The prices have continued to rule firm despite several government measures.
