Centre hikes import duty on edible oils to protect farmers

The Centre has raised import duty on crude palm oil to 30 percent from 15 percent and on refined oil to 40 percent from 20 percent in a bid to curb cheaper shipments and boost local prices.
A man carries empty aluminium tins used for edible oil past a stack of tins at a recycling yard in Ahmedabad. (File Photo | Reuters)
A man carries empty aluminium tins used for edible oil past a stack of tins at a recycling yard in Ahmedabad. (File Photo | Reuters)

(Eds: Correcting figure in para 1)New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) The Centre has raised import dutyon crude palm oil to 30 per cent from 15 per cent and onrefined oil to 40 per cent from 25 (rpt) 25 per cent in a bidto curb cheaper shipments and boost local prices forsupporting farmers and refiners, according to a notification.

Import duty on soyabean oil, sunflower oils,canola/mustard oils -- both crude and refined format -- hasbeen raised, the notification released by the Central Board ofExcise and Customs (CBEC) late last night said.

Import duty on soyabean has also been increased.

An inter-ministerial group headed by Union minister NitinGadkari and the Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister(EAC-PM) had examined the local price situation and suggestedraising the import duties on edible oils and some oilseeds.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) saidimport duty of crude palm oil has been doubled to 30 per cent,while the refined crude palm oil been increased to 40 per centfrom 25 per cent.

Import duty on crude soyabean oil has been increased to30 per cent from 17.5 per cent, while refined soyabean oil hasbeen raised to 35 per cent from the current 20 per cent.

Similarly, import duty on crude sunflower oil has beenincreased to 25 per cent from 12.5 per cent, while that onrefined sunflower oil has been increased to 35 per cent from20 per cent.

Also, import duty on crude canola/rapeseed/mustard oilshas been increased to 25 per cent from 12.5 per cent, whilethe tax on refined crude canola/rapeseed/mustard oilsincreased to 35 per cent from 20 per cent.

That apart, import duty on soyabean has been increased to45 per cent from 30 per cent, the notification said.

Welcoming the move, industry body Soybean ProcessorsAssociation of India (SOPA) said, "As the prices of alloilseeds fell below the MSP and a sense of deep distress anddespondency was setting in the minds of farmers, thegovernment finally saw the logic in our demand." India, the world's leading cooking oil buyer, imported154.50 lakh tonnes of both edible and non-edible oils in 2016-17 marketing year (November-October), up by 4.75 per centfrom 147.38 lakh tonnes in the previous year.

India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysiaand a small quantity of crude soft oil, including soyabean oilfrom Latin America. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine andRussia. PTI LUXMR.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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