India Cuts Edible Oil Import Duty Ahead Of Navratri, Diwali; Marico, Patanjali Foods, Other Stocks In Focus

It's major good news for domestic edible oil companies, as India has trimmed basic import duty on crude and refined edible oils along with palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil amidst spike in prices. The decision is taken to lower prices ahead of the peak festive season, such as Navratri and Diwali, which are scheduled in the next two months. Following this, edible oil stocks like Marico, Patanjali Foods, and AWL Agri Business will be in focus.

India Edible Oil Import Duty Cut

The government has lowered basic import duty ​on crude palm oil and crude soyoil by 5% to 10% from earlier 5%. Also, the duty is trimmed to 27.5% from 32.5% on refined palm oil and refined soyoil.

Over the past year, vegetable oil prices have climbed around 20% and the latest customs duty cut is expected to push the prices lower and drive consumption, especially during festive season from September to November.

However, the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess and Social Welfare Surcharge will continue to be in place on these edible oils. Accordingly, crude oil palm and crude soyoil will face 11% total import duty and crude sunflower oil will attract 5.5% duty. Earlier, the total duty stood at 16.5% on these oils.

In FY26, India imported up to 16.65 million tonnes of edible oils, higher by 3% from 16.07 million tonnes in FY25. The industry estimates showed that the imports covered about 60% of domestic edible-oil demand.

The inflation rate of edible oils such as mustard oil, soya oil, sunflower oil and groundnut oil rose to 5.8%, 11.7%, 18.4% and 9.9% in August 2026. Bank of Baroda economists expect it to rise further to 6.8%, 12.5%, 18.7% and 11.1% in September 2026 as well. Edible oil prices in both India and international market surged significantly in the month of August.

Will Edible Companies Benefit?

Aashish Acharya, vice president ​at Patanjali Foods told Reuters, sunflower oil ⁠will be ​the biggest beneficiary of the duty cut, making it ​more attractive for refiners and potentially taking some demand away from soyoil and palm oil.

While a Mumbai-based Sandeep Bajoria, ​chief executive ⁠of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage, told Reuters that "Anticipating a reduction in import duty, refiners had held back on purchases, but they will ​now step up imports to meet festival-season demand."

Hence, it is indeed a major relief!

India's two-thirds of vegetable oil demands are met through imports from countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Russia, and Ukraine. These imports include mainly palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil.

Edible Oil Stocks

Currently, stocks like Marico and Patanjali Foods hold dominance in the edible oil market. However, the two stocks have performed volatile over the past years. Marico has fared better than Patanjali Foods. Other stocks include AWL Agri Business, Gokul Agro Resources, Sundrop Brands, BCL Industries, Kriti Nutrients, Gokul Refoils & Solvent, and Raj Oil Mills among others.

Name	LTP (NSE)	1 Yr Returns	3 Yr Returns	5 Yr Returns
Marico	₹832.30	17.89%	45.03%	46.84%
Patanjali Foods	₹409.45	-31.74%	-4.33%	18.02%
AWL Agri Business	₹186.18	-28.42%	-45.69%	-30.59%
Gokul Agro Resources	₹225.81	9.51%	303.38%	1,060.38%
Sundrop Brands	₹744.30	-9.09%	-10.55%	-26.97%
BCL Industries	₹34.14	-19.25%	-36.38%	49.61%
Kriti Nutrients	₹80.21	-16.24%	9.80%	47.17%
Gokul Refoils & Solvent	₹40.42	-7.55%	19.23%	48.60%
Vijay Solvex	₹632.30	-8.69%	-8.69%	-8.69%
MK Proteins	₹4.04	-46.91%	-95.17%	38.36%
Rajgor Castor Derivatives	₹15.50	-45.61%	-74.63%	-74.63%
Raj Oil Mills	₹41.87	-14.10%	-7.16%	-46.42%
Superior Industrial Enterprises	₹30.48	-13.09%	-13.09%	-13.09%
NK Industries	₹56.78	-21.36%	42.13%	75.79%
Shanti Overseas	₹5.70	-39.49%	-69.60%	-71.92%
Credit: DHAN Brokerage

In the early hours of Thursday, edible stocks traded on a mixed note. Stocks like Gokul Refoils, BCL Industries, Sundrop Brands, Patanjali Foods and Marico dropped by 0.3% to 1.5%. On other hand, stocks like Rajgor Castor, Gokul Agro, Shanti Overseas, Kriti Nutrients, Raj Oil Mills, Gokul Refoils, and AWL Agri rose marginally to as high as 5%.

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