New Delhi. On February 18-19, 20,000-20,000 bags of peanuts arrived in the Rajkot market in Gujarat, compared to the previous daily arrival of 6,000-7,000 bags. Despite the increased arrivals, strong trading led to a jump in peanut prices by ₹2,000 to reach a peak of ₹8,000/11,000 per quintal. Prices in Solapur, Maharashtra, and Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh, also rose by ₹300 each to ₹10,300 and ₹6,500/7,000 per quintal, respectively. However, prices in Jhansi fell by ₹100 to ₹6,200/6,800 per quintal.

Weak trading in shelled peanut kernels led to a softening of prices. Although peanut kernel exports are performing well, demand at crushing and processing units remained weak.

Due to reduced demand for loose peanut oil, prices fell by ₹50 to ₹1,700 per 10 kg in Rajkot, Gondal, Junagadh, and Jamnagar in Gujarat. A similar decline was observed in a 15 kg tin of oil in Rajkot. Furthermore, prices fell by ₹20-₹30 in other centers, including Ahmedabad, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

The price of a 15 liter tin of branded peanut oil in Kota fell from ₹2,800 to ₹2,750. Similarly, the price of filtered peanut oil declined by ₹50-₹75 in Jaipur and Newai. It is believed that demand for peanut oil weakened at higher prices, leading to a slowdown in trade.