US-Iran War: Due to the Iran-America war that has been going on for almost two months, now the situation is such that everything like edible oil, cooking gas, soap, biscuits is gradually becoming expensive and the biggest blow is being given to the common man by palm oil. Soap, biscuits, hair oil, noodles and cooking oil. All of these contain palm oil. Palm oil also has a major share in edible oil brands like Fortune, Gemini, Ruchi Gold available in the market. This is the reason why the increase in the price of palm oil directly impacts the kitchen budget.

Comes from Indonesia – war has made it expensive

India imports about 16.7 million tonnes of edible oil every year. The largest share in this, about 40 percent, is palm oil which comes from Indonesia and Malaysia. This oil reaches India by sea ships through the Strait of Malacca, but due to the Iran-America war, sea shipping insurance has become expensive all over the world and freight costs have increased. All this burden ultimately falls on the price of the oil that you buy from the market.

On the other hand, Indonesia has now said that it will now control its sale outside and will use it itself because bio-diesel is also made from palm oil and in Indonesia it is even mixed with diesel, so there is constant doubt about its supply.

Palm oil fell 19 percent in March

India’s palm oil imports fell 19 percent to the lowest level in three months in March 2026. The reason is clear, the prices increased so much that Indian importers reduced purchases but the trouble did not stop here. In February 2026, the import of sunflower oil also reduced by almost half due to the West Asia crisis and rising prices.

Even in April, the supply of sunflower oil remains under pressure. When both the major imported oils are in shortage together, the prices in the market will definitely increase and this is what is happening. In some markets, edible oil has reached ₹182 per litre. Due to the impact of the Iran-America war, edible oil has become costlier by an average of 7 percent.

Soap, hair oil, biscuits – palm oil everywhere

Palm oil is not just edible oil. Soaps like Lux, Lifebuoy, Cinthol contain palm oil derivatives. Many hair oil products applied on hair are made from palm kernel oil. Big companies like Parle, Britannia use palm oil extensively in making biscuits and namkeen. Now that the input cost of palm oil has increased, FMCG companies are adopting one of two ways: either increase the price or reduce the quantity at the same price. This is called Shrinkflation. In both cases the loss is yours.

After the Iran crisis, domestic LPG cylinder has already become costlier by ₹ 60. Commercial LPG, which is used in dhabas, small restaurants and hotels, has increased by ₹ 195.50. This means that the food you eat outside will also be more expensive than before. On one hand, the kitchen budget of the house is deteriorating and on the other hand, eating outside also does not provide relief.

Government inflation figures are also rising

India’s retail inflation increased to 3.4 percent in March 2026, which was 3.2 percent in February. Inflation of cooking fuel went above 4 percent. Wholesale Price Inflation increased to 3.88 percent in March due to the rise in crude rates and now experts are warning that food inflation may go even higher in April, that is, the figures visible now are not the complete picture, the real impact is yet to come.

Even the Reserve Bank of India itself has admitted that the Iran-America war is having an impact on India’s economy. RBI has listed five major threats and India’s high growth, low inflation is under pressure. The government has increased crude imports from Russia to save oil supply. But the story of edible oil is different because there is no substitute from Russia.

Now understand this in such a way that if we calculate for a normal middle class family of four people, then about ₹ 45 more will be spent on 5 liters of cooking oil, ₹ 60 more on LPG cylinder, ₹ 45 to ₹ 60 more on soap-hair oil-biscuits combined i.e. an additional burden of ₹ 150 to ₹ 165 every month. This amount ranges from ₹ 1,800 to ₹ 2,000 in a year and this is just the beginning. Input cost pressure will continue on FMCG companies in FY27 also.

Understand what options the government has?

The government has the option of reducing import duty which has also been tried in 2024. Efforts are also underway to increase the cultivation of palm oil in the country under NMEO-OP i.e. National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm, but increasing cultivation is a long process – its effect is not visible immediately. At present, until some concrete relief is provided, the common man will have to manage the kitchen budget himself.