India may have surplus vegetable oil on higher import

New Delhi (PTI): India's import of vegetable oil may increase to 70 lakh tonnes in the oil year starting November 2008 mainly because of zero duty, even as the country is estimated to have produced oil higher than in the previous year.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, Central Organisation of Oil Industry and Trade (COOIT) president Davish Jain said the import would be over 70 lakh tonnes as against the domestic requirement of 130-135 lakh tonnes.

Since the domestic production of edible oil is expected to be higher at 85-90 lakh tonnes, there will be at least 20 lakh tonnes of surplus oil in the country, he added.

He also pointed out that the announcement of zero import duty on crude soyabean oil is not warranted at this juncture when prices of edible oils are already low.

The Association said that cheaper imports would bring down the domestic prices of mustard with the new crop to hit the market soon.

The overall imports between November 2008 and February this year have gone up by 68 per cent to 29.51 lakh tonnes, compared with 17.61 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

The country imports palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia, and soya oil from Brazil and Argentina.

Source: http://www.hindu.com/