The food ministry has ordered edible oil industry associations to immediately pass on import duty reductions to consumers, following a government order to halve customs duties on crude oils amid soaring food inflation.

A meeting with leading edible oil industry associations and industry stakeholders was held under the chairmanship of the secretary, department of food and public distribution, where an advisory was issued directing them to pass on the benefits from the duty reduction to consumers.

Industry stakeholders are expected to adjust their price to distributors (PTD) and maximum retail price (MRP) in accordance with lower landed costs with immediate effect, the department said.

Associations have been requested to advise their members to implement immediate price reductions and share updated brand-wise MRP sheets with the department on a weekly basis.

The ministry shared a format with the edible oil industry for reporting reduced MRP and PTD data, emphasising that “timely transmission of benefits through the supply chain is imperative to ensure consumers experience corresponding decreases in prices”.

The decision came after a detailed review of the sharp rise in edible oil prices following last year’s duty hike. The increase led to significant inflationary pressure on consumers.

The Centre has reduced the duty on crude edible oils, crude sunflower, soybean and palm oils from 20 per cent to 10 per cent.