The government will keep a watch on the oil market and impose stock limits if required

Rajkot: At a time when inflation has become a major issue across the country, the central government had decided twenty days ago to impose a stock limit on oil and oilseeds till March 31, 2072 to control edible oil prices and empowered the state governments to do so. The state government has decided to postpone the stock limit for the time being despite the rampant profits in edible oil prices in Gujarat. The supply minister said, "We will keep a watch on oil market, oil prices, groundnut sales, etc.

"We are not following the demands of the oilmillers, but all the ministers have deliberated on the demands made by the farmers' unions on the grounds that the prices of groundnuts are adequate," Patel said, adding that this did not mean the government would not impose stock limits. The states which have taken this decision are appropriate according to the local situation and in Gujarat also the decision will be taken according to the local situation. Overall, the government wants to strike a balance between getting adequate prices for groundnuts to farmers and getting edible oils at reasonable prices to the people.

On the other hand, with the state government postponing the stock limit, the prices of edible oil, especially in Gujarat, have stopped falling despite the fact that more than 3 lakh tonnes of groundnuts have been planted and the market yards have been booming. Peanut oil prices have not come down fairly and are still stable at 200-50 kg of 15 kg tin. These prices do not seem to be in line with demand-supply, but there is a smell of profit. With the fall in cottonseed oil prices, it has become cheaper by Rs 150 as compared to cingulum oil.