Shah said retailers would sell the 15-kg old tin of groundnut oil for Rs 700 while the cottonseed oil and palmolein old tins would be sold for Rs 670 and Rs 625 respectively.

The rates would come in force in the city from Thursday, while in the rural areas from Friday. Teams of district civil supplies department would carry out surprise raids at retailers to monitor whether they were abiding by the decision taken at Wednesday's meeting.

Traders charging more than the fixed rates would be dealt with sternly, Shah said threatening to book under the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities Order 1980 traders violating the agreement more than once. Shah held telephonic talks with the district collectors of Ahmedabad, Rajkot and Jamnagar, as also the Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh before arriving at the agreement.

Close on the heels of the agreement, the collector also held a meeting with Farsan traders on Thursday, who agreed to reduce the rates from Rs 64 to Rs 60 per kg. Members of Shahar Farsan Association and Shah agreed on the rate reduction after discussing the expenditure incurred on raw material.

Shah threatened to invoke the provisions of Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Essential Supplies Order 1980 against traders found adulterating the commodity and charging more than the prescribed rate. Besides Shah, District Supply Officer K D Chandnani and farsan traders were present at the meeting.

When traders sought to know from the collector whether the prescribed rates held true even if oil is not available in the market, Shah said there was enough stock of the commodity and strict action would be taken against oil traders indulging in hoarding. The action would include cancellation of license, he added.