What Should 1 Litre of Mustard Oil Cost in India?

Packed mustard oil averaged ₹197.18 per kilogram across India on 12 August 2026, according to the Department of Consumer Affairs Price Monitoring Division. The government quotes edible oil by weight, and a litre of mustard oil weighs roughly 0.91 kg, so that is about ₹180 a litre. Cold pressed, kachi ghani and wood-pressed oil sit above that figure, and the reason is mechanical: a cold press leaves 16 to 20 per cent of the oil in the seed cake, while solvent extraction strips the same meal to under 1 per cent.

Extraction method sets most of the gap. A price far below the retail benchmark usually means the oil is not what the label implies, and bulk packs help less than the discount badge suggests.

What the government price data says about mustard oil

Wood-pressed mustard oil should cost more than about ₹180 a litre. That is the litre equivalent of ₹197.18 per kilogram, the all-India average retail price the Department of Consumer Affairs recorded for packed mustard oil on 12 August 2026. Cold extraction costs more because it recovers less oil per seed.

On the same day, groundnut was ₹205.63 a kilogram, sunflower ₹189.40, soya ₹164.46 and palm ₹147.35. Mustard oil already sits near the top of the mass-market table before anyone presses it slowly. A year earlier the same average was ₹186.68, and two years earlier ₹139.91, a rise of roughly 41 per cent.

Why does cold pressed mustard oil cost more per litre than refined?

Cold pressed mustard oil costs more because a cold press does not get all the oil out. Research on rapeseed processing reports that cold-pressed press cake still holds 16 to 20 per cent oil, whereas solvent-extracted meal comes out at 1 per cent or less.

A wood-pressed kolhu turns slowly and at low temperature, so a given quantity of seed yields less bottled oil than an extraction line running the same tonnage. The producer still buys the whole seed, so seed cost per litre is higher.

The residue is not wasted. Oil-rich mustard cake is sold on as sarso khali, a garden input, though cake fetches a fraction of what oil does.

What does the "mustard oil price" you see online actually measure?

The "mustard oil price" quoted online is often something you cannot buy: queries like "mustard oil price today" return mandi rates quoted per quintal for traders. A quintal rate tells you where the market is heading, not what a bottle costs.

Two more traps sit inside the retail numbers. The first is weight against volume: the Department of Consumer Affairs quotes mustard oil per kilogram, while the bottle in front of you is sold in litres. Edible oil is lighter than water, so a litre weighs slightly under a kilogram.

The second is pack size. Not every "1 litre" shelf slot holds a litre, and some are filled by weight in grams rather than volume in litres.

Is a 5 litre pack really cheaper per litre?

A 5 litre pack is usually cheaper per litre, though by less than the discount badge suggests. Bulk packs carry thinner percentage discounts than small packs, because headline offers win first-time buyers. Compare rupees per litre, worked out from the price you actually pay.

SatRas is a useful worked example because its prices are published. On 13 August 2026, wood-pressed black mustard oil was ₹304 for 1 litre and ₹1,450 for 5 litres, or ₹304 and ₹290 a litre. Wood-pressed yellow mustard oil was ₹449 for 1 litre and ₹2,000 for 5 litres, or ₹449 and ₹400 a litre.

So the yellow 5 litre pack saves about ₹49 a litre and the black about ₹14. Both are real savings, and neither is near the percentage figure printed on the small pack.

How much mustard oil does a household actually get through in a month?

A household gets through less mustard oil in a month than most bulk buyers assume. The ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition's Dietary Guidelines for Indians recommends limiting visible fat, meaning cooking oil, to 20 to 50 grams per person per day. Sedentary women are advised 20 grams and men 30 grams.

Take four adults at roughly 30 grams a day. That is about 120 grams daily, near 3.6 kilograms a month, so a 5 litre pack is five to six weeks of cooking. Two people take close to three months.

A per-litre saving on a pack you finish slowly is barely a saving. Buy the pack size that matches the kitchen.

What does a mustard oil price that looks too good usually mean?

A mustard oil price that looks too good usually means the oil is not what the label implies. Two pieces of Indian food law explain most suspiciously cheap "pure" mustard oil.

First, blending. Selling a mixture of two or more edible oils as an edible oil is prohibited, and since 8 June 2021 no multi-source edible vegetable oil containing mustard oil may be sold at all.

Second, the label. Mustard oil may be labelled Kachi Ghani or Cold Pressed only if its natural allyl isothiocyanate content is not less than 0.20 per cent by weight. That compound is the pungency, and the legal test behind the words. The same standards require solvent-extracted oil to be refined before it is supplied for human consumption.

A litre labelled kachi ghani or cold pressed but priced at or below the refined national average deserves a question.

How do you work out the real price per litre in any shop?

Four steps work out the real price per litre in thirty seconds, on a shelf or a marketplace listing.

1. Read the declared net quantity. Litres or grams, whichever the pack states. Ignore its visual size.
2. Divide the price you pay by that quantity. Not the struck-through price.
3. Compare against the refined benchmark. ₹197.18 a kilogram as of 12 August 2026, about ₹180 a litre. Anything claiming cold extraction should sit above it.
4. Check what backs the claim. Extraction method, pungency, a lab report. A price with nothing behind it is just a number.

What do these packs cost, and where does each number come from?

Prices move, so every figure used in this guide is listed below with its source.

The high oleic oil is pressed from Raya Hisar 1706, a seed variety developed by CCSHAU, and its fatty acid profile is published rather than described. Pack sizes sit on the mustard oil collection, and pressing questions are answered on the SatRas FAQ page.

Prices here were read on 12 and 13 August 2026. Edible oil moves with import duty, mandi rates and freight, so treat every figure as a dated reference point.

Frequently asked questions

What is the price of 1 litre mustard oil in India?

Packed mustard oil averaged ₹197.18 per kilogram across India on 12 August 2026, per Department of Consumer Affairs data, which works out to about ₹180 a litre. That is the refined mass-market benchmark. Cold pressed, kachi ghani and wood-pressed litres cost more, because cold extraction recovers less oil from the same seed.

How long would a 5 litre pack last a family of four?

Roughly six weeks. The ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition advises limiting visible fat to 20 to 50 grams per person per day, so four adults at about 30 grams each use around 120 grams a day, near 3.6 kilograms a month. Buy the pack size the kitchen will finish, because opened oil does not improve with age.

Is kachi ghani the same as cold pressed mustard oil?

Kachi ghani and cold pressed mustard oil carry the same legal test in India. Mustard oil may be labelled Kachi Ghani or Cold Pressed only if its natural allyl isothiocyanate content is not less than 0.20 per cent by weight. Neither term guarantees a wooden press, so ask what equipment was used.

Why is mustard oil price today different from the shop price?

Most "price today" figures are mandi rates quoted per quintal for the trade, not retail prices. Government retail monitoring is quoted per kilogram, while bottles are sold per litre, and oil weighs slightly less than water. Compare a shelf price against a retail benchmark, not a mandi rate.

Can mustard oil legally be mixed with cheaper oils?

No, mustard oil cannot legally be mixed with cheaper oils. Selling a mixture of two or more edible oils as an edible oil is prohibited in India, and since 8 June 2021 no multi-source edible vegetable oil containing mustard oil may be sold. A price far below the retail benchmark is a reason to ask for batch documentation.