NEW DELHI (Commoditiescontrol) - The Centre on Thursday raised import duty on crude palm oil to 44 percent from 30 percent and hiked the duty on refined palm oil to 54 percent from 40 percent to curb cheaper shipments and ensure remunerative prices to domestic growers.
The duty increase is likely to lift oilseed prices and encourage domestic supply for crushing, helping cap edible oil imports in the 2017/18 marketing year that started on November 1.
India is among the biggest importers of palm oil in the world.
The government has increased the import duty on palm oils three times since August, last hiking it in November.
Now the import duty on crude and refined palm oil is at highest level in more than a decade.
India relies on imports for 70 percent of its edible oil consumption, up from 44 percent in 2001/02.
India primarily imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyoil from Argentina and Brazil. It also buys small volumes of sunflower oil from Ukraine and canola oil from Canada.
On Thursday, landed cost of crude soyoil at Mumbai port was $812 per tonne, compared to $695 for crude palm oil, according to data compiled by trade body SEA.
In the Budget 2018, the government had hiked import duty on crude cottonseed oil, olive oil and safflower oil to 30 percent from 12.5 percent, and on refined oils to 35 percent in line with other crude and refined oils. Also, the government had announced 10 percent social welfare surcharge on all imported goods including edible oils and this will increase marginally the import duty.
Meanwhile, industry body Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) said that the country's total vegetable oil imports increased by over 25 percent to 12.91 lakh tonnes in January this year from 10.28 lakh tonnes in the year-ago.
While palm oil imports surged by 36.17 percent to 8,34,444 tonnes in January 2018 on increased shipment of crude palm oil (CPO). India, the worlds leading vegetable oil buyer, had imported 6,12,762 tonne palm oil in January 2017.
The share of palm oil is more than 60 percent of the country's total vegetable oil imports. Among palm oil products, import of CPO increased by 63.23 percent to 6,72,762 tonnes in January this year from 4,12,140 tonnes in the same period last year.
The shipment of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) also increased to 11,018 tonnes from 3,999 tonnes, while that of RBD palmolein declined to 1,50,664 tonnes from 1,96,623 tonnes in the said period.
Among soft oil, import of soybean oil increased to 2,24,870 tonnes in January 2018 from 1,66,573 tonnes in the year-ago.
The shipment of sunflower oil, however, declined to 1,70,831 tonnes from 2,14,872 tonnes, while that of rapeseed oil to 16,702 from 17,878 tonnes in the said period.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91 9582843581)
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