MUMBAI (Commoditiescontrol) - India's vegetable oil imports during the month of August dropped 8 percent at 12.62 lakh tonnes from 13.74 lakh tonnes a same period last year due to high stock, said industry body in a release.
Overall import of vegetable oils during first ten months of the current oil year 2015-16 (Nov-Aug) stood at 121.65 lakh tonnes compared to 117.25 lakh tonnes a year ago, according to The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA).
Import of RBD Palmolein during the first ten months of the current oil reached at 21.96 lakh tonnes from 12.57 lakh tonnes replacing import of crude palm oil and expected to increase further in the coming months.
"The alarming increase in import of RBD Palmolein, seriously hurting the domestic refining industry. This situation has arisen due to the fact that currently the landed cost of RBD olein (finished product) is same as that of Crude Palm Oil (raw material). Due to this situation, the domestic refining industry is facing severe crisis of under utilization of capacity and is on the verge of closure," said B.V Mehta, Executive Director, SEA.
Presently tax on export of CPO from Indonesia/Malaysia is higher by 5 percent in comparison to Refined Palm Oil/Olein. This differential will keep increasing with increase in prices of Palm Oil in the origins. Therefore duty differential in India has to be made variable to be in line with the differential duty prevailing in Malaysia/Indonesia and justify to increase in duty difference between crude and refined vegetable oils from 7.5 percent to 15 percent, said Mehta.
(By Commoditiescontrol Bureau; +91-22-40015533)