India's import of sensitive items, including pulses, vegetables and automobiles have risen by 14.1 per cent to Rs 40,499 crore during the April-October period of the current fiscal.
The country had imported such items worth Rs 35,487 crore in the same period of last fiscal, official data said today.
Edible oil contributed the highest to the import kitty with Rs 15,882 crore during the reporting period, against Rs 14,205 crore in the same period of last fiscal, mainly due to 17.2 per cent spurt in import of crude oil like soyabean.
The imports of milk and dairy products also increased to Rs 536.12 crore and that of automobiles to Rs 1,249.92 crore during the period of the current financial year from Rs 131.16 crore and Rs 583.28 crore, respectively last year.
However, cotton and silk, tea and coffee imports dipped by 26.7 per cent and 19.5 per cent during the period to Rs 945.44 crore and Rs 149.19 crore, respectively.
Foodgrains, milk, silk and beverages are among the items categorised as sensitive ones and their imports are monitored by government to check any possible adverse impact on the local industry.
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Import of automobiles registered a significant rise of 114.3 per cent during April-October to Rs 1,249.92 crore from Rs 583.28 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.
Gross import of all commodities during the period under review was Rs 8,89,827 crore compared to Rs 7,43,469 crore in the corresponding period of last year.
Import of sensitive items amounted to 4.6 per cent of the country's total imports during the period.
Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, China, Malaysia and the United States have gone up while those from Myanmar, Canada, Brazil and Japan have gone down.