29/06/2011 (India Times) - At a time when consumers are burdened with rising costs, here's something to cheer about. Edible oil prices have eased, prompting players like Adani Wilmar and Ruchi Soya Industries to reduce consumer prices across brands.

Both leading players, Adani Wilmar and Ruchi Soya Industries, have confirmed their plans to pass on the price reduction to consumers, which is expected to be in the range of 3 to 6 %. Given that edible oils is a highly competitive market, other branded edible oil makers are also expected to follow suit.

Anghsu Mallick, chief operating officer, Adani Wilmar, told TOI that the company is bringing down prices by Rs 2-3 per litre, depending on the brand of oil.

A spokesperson of Ruchi Soya Industries also confirmed that the company has reduced prices of several brands across the category of sunflower, soya bean and palm oils by 3% to 6% in the past one month. "Weakening of crude palm oil prices globally and reduced prices of soya with the onset of a favourable monsoon have helped the company to reduce its retail prices. Ruchi Soya is keen on passing on the cost reduction benefits to its consumers," the spokesperson said.

However, exact details of the price reductions were not immediately available. When contacted, Videh Jaipuriar, vice-president (foods), Bunge India, said: "Since the market is volatile, we are watching the situation before taking any pricing decision."

An industry analyst pointed out that although prices of edible oils have come down over the last few weeks compared to the same period last year, they are still on the higher side.

Post Diwali last year, branded edible oil makers had taken prices up following a spike to an all time high owing to supply constraints.

At that time, consumer prices were up by almost Rs 5 per litre over a period of time. Edible oil prices have been sliding in the wholesale market for almost three weeks due to sluggish demand and a weak global market.

On the other hand, inflationary pressure is putting serious constraints on the Indian economy. "Consumers are already under a lot of pressure from various quarters in terms of pricing. Therefore, since global edible prices have come down, the consumer price on edible oils too should be passed on to the consumer," said Mallick.

As per Nielsen's data, Adani Wilmar is the market leader in the total ROCP (refined oil in consumer packs) market, with a volume share of 14.7%, followed by Ruchi Soya Industries (12.7%) and Cargill (8%). Brand wise, Fortune is a leader in total ROCP with a volume share of 10.6%, while Ruchi Gold has a share of 6.4% and Mahakosh's share is 2.1%. The edible oil industry is of the order of Rs 75,000 crore (15 million tonne), including packaged and loose oils.