Govt scraps basic customs duty, cuts cess on crude palm, soy, sunflower oil

Move might impact farmers' realisation when kharif harvest is on, say industry players

With prices of edible oils threatening to remain elevated during the festivals, the Centre Wednesday virtually abolished the basic customs duty on crude varieties of palm, soybean and sunflower oil and also slashed the agri-cess on them till March 2022, barely days after it authorised states to impose stock limits on oilseeds and edible oil.

However, traders and market watchers said that timing of the cut could have a negative impact on farmers’ realisation as they are harvesting their kharif soybean and groundnut crop.

While, at the same, how much it will impact final consumer prices is also unclear as