NEW DELHI, Feb 13: India imported more than 500,000 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia in January out of its overall edible oil imports of about 1.07 mi.
MUMBAI, Feb 12 (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports jumped 31% in January from a year earlier as lower import taxes prompted refiners to increase purchases of the tropical oil, while soyoil and sunflower oil imports fell, a trade body said on Thursday.The country imported 780,741 tonnes of palm oil last month, while soyoil imports plunged 66% to 88,667 tonnes "as truckers strikes in Argentina seriously affected loading during November," the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.
Import duty reduction from November 2, 2020, on crude palm oil (CPO) was reduced to 27.5 per cent from 37.5 per cent, while duty on soft oils remained unchanged at 35 per cent, which encouraged larger import of palm oil, SEA added.
Palm oil import up, soft oil down marginally in Nov-Jan quarter of 2020-21
February 12, 2021
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CPO import jumped 24% in Q1 of oil year 2020-21 on duty cut from 37.5% to 27.5% with effect from November 27
Import of palm oil jumped by 8 per cent in the first quarter of the oil year 2020-21.
According to data on import of vegetable oils (both edible and non-edible) for January 2021, compiled by Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India, the import of palm oil (which includes CPO, RBD palmolein, and crude palm kernel oil) increased to 2.17 million tonnes (mt) during the November-January quarter of the oil year 2020-21 against two mt during the corresponding period of the previous oil year, registering a growth of 8.01 per cent.
India’s tax increase on crude palm oil imports could reduce shipments
India has imposed an additional tax on crude palm oil imports as the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils tries to build domestic agriculture infrastructure by taxing imports, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
India cut the basic import tax on crude palm oil to 15% from 27.5%, but imposed a 17.5% “cess” – a separate tax – on the imports, Sitharaman said in her federal budget speech.
The cess would provide resources for “an immediate need to improve agricultural infrastructure,” Sitharaman said.
The tax increase will narrow the duty gap between palm oil and other edible oils, which could reduce India’s palm oil imports and potentially put pressure on Malaysian palm oil prices.