Relief is in sight for consumers with edible oil prices set to fall, after a gap of four months, from mid-December by up to 9% following a drop in international prices of soybean, sunflower and palm oil by $100 dollars per tonne in the last fortnight.Abundant global production of soybean has pushed down prices of soybean oil. Sunflower oil prices are also cooling off while palm oil prices have fallen since Indonesia, the world's biggest palm oil producer, is yet to frame its biodiesel policy.Indonesia produces biodiesel from a blend of palm oil and fossil fuel-based diesel. The country currently uses 35% palm oil in biodiesel, which the government was planning to raise to 40%, a move opposed by environmentalists. This has forced the Indonesian government to rethink the issue.Increasing palm oil content in biodiesel will cause further deforestation to produce more palm oil, impacting the environment."In the last fortnight, prices of sunflower oil have tumbled from $1,300 per tonne to $1,200 per tonne, while soybean oil has fallen to $1,130 per tonne from $1,230 per tonne," said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, an oil trading company. "Similarly, palm oil prices, that are in transit, have fallen to $1,220 tonne from $1,320 per tonne.""Even in the wholesale market, prices of mustard oil have fallen by Rs 10 per litre to Rs 136. At the retail end, prices of mustard oil will too fall. By mid-December, edible oil prices should fall by 8 to 9%," Bajoria said.India imports 14.5 -15 million tonnes of edible oils annually to meet domestic demand.Priyam Patel, managing director of NK Proteins, which produces edible oils under the Tirupati brand name, "Global soybean supplies remain abundant, with South America projected to deliver a record crop, which could lead to downward pressure on soybean oil prices."He said the incoming Trump administration is expected to make changes in the US biodiesel policy, which is likely to temper demand for vegetable oils in biofuel production, further softening price pressures."Additionally, a surplus in the global crude oil market has lowered crude oil prices, making biodiesel less competitive and reducing the demand for edible oils like palm oil used in biofuel manufacturing," he said.Patel said however that the drop in sunflower oil prices may be temporary."Russia's decision on increasing the export duty for sunflower oil is expected to be implemented anytime in December as is being heard. An unprecedented rise of 183% in global export duty is projected currently. This move is likely to have an impact on global sunflower oil consumers," he said, adding that any move by Moscow to raise export duty could inflate sunflower oil prices by Rs 40-50 per 10 kg, increasing the financial burden on Indian consumers.