Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Food Grade Hexane Prices Cut - Sept 02, 2008

Mumbai: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation have reduced prices of food grade hexane, which is used for processing oilseeds, oilcakes and rice bran, by about Rs 6,000 a kilolitre (kl). The new prices will be effective from Monday.

“Indian Oil Corporation is also considering a price cut and is expected to announce it in a day or two,” said a press release from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEAI).

B.V. Mehta, Executive Director, SEAI, said the processing cost for a tonne of edible oil which was about Rs 700-800 will now come down by Rs 30 due to reduction in hexane prices.

Food grade hexane prices increased 70 per cent to Rs 56,000 a kl from Rs 33,000 a kl in July last year.

Processing cost

The move had increased the processing cost by Rs 200-300 a tonne and had direct impact on edible oil price and inflation, the SEAI said.

The Association had represented to the Government and petroleum companies that the high prices have discouraged the processing of oilcakes and rice bran for producing vegetable oils which is already in short supply.

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