"Prices will come down by almost Rs 5,000 per tonne in all categories by end-October," said Ashok Sethia, president, Eastern India Oil Industry and Trade Association.

Edible oil supplies are at a low ebb at present with a lot of mustard oil going underground and a phobia about the oil still persisting in the minds of the people, according to Sethia.

"Post monsoon rains are continuing in many states even now and this may delay the harvesting of many crops, effectively delaying the arrival of new supplies to the market," Sethia said.

"It seems that the market will remain stable at the present level," he added.Soyabean, groundnut, paddy and cotton are the oil bearing crops that are expected to be harvested in the coming months. "According to our estimates there will be57-60 lakh tonnes of groundnut, 55 lakh tonnes of soya bean and 55-60 lakh tonnes of cotton seed, available after the forthcoming harvest," Sethia added.

"Most of the festival demand has been met by the palmolein oil that was imported," said Sethia, adding "most of the food establishments picked up this oil. In fact the price of palmolein dropped from 44.50 to 42.50 due to the import palmolein."

Sethia further said "The government should come out with a full fledged campaign about the status of mustard oil. Business is still being hampered due to the fear psychosis and rumours about specific brands doing the rounds."

"Most of the Diwali buying is over in Calcutta and people have already stored up their diwali requirements," Sethia added.

At present, mustard oil is selling at Rs 58 per kg, sesame oil at Rs 44 per kg, groundnut oil for Rs 60 per kg, palmolein for Rs 42.50 per kg and Rice Bran oil for Rs 41 per kg.

Delhi: Satya Narain Aggarwal, general secretary, Delhi Vegetable Oil Traders'Association alleged that the government's recent policy of compulsory testing and packaging of edible oil has caused panic amongst traders and consumers in the country.

This policy has caused restricted supply of edible oils to Delhi by the mill owners. The mill owners are reluctant to supply edible oils to Delhi due to the stringent rules of testing and compulsory packaging. This restricted supply to Delhi caused the rise in prices. This situation of short supply coupled with increased demand for the festive Diwali season skyrocted the prices in open markets in Delhi.

The prices of mustard oil rose from Rs 270 per 10 kg to Rs 570 per 10 kg. The prices of groundnut oil rose from Rs 350 per 10 kg to Rs 680 per 10 kg. The price of teel oil rose from Rs 325 per 10 kg to Rs 500 per 10 kg. The price of imported palmolein oil increased from Rs 150 per 10 kg to Rs 450 per 10 kg and that of soyabean oil from Rs 150 per 10 kg to Rs 425 per 10 kg.