Vegetable oil imports continued a declining trend for the fifth consecutive month this year due to increased availability from domestic sources.
Data compiled by the apex trade body, the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), shows import during March declined 31.1 per cent to 435,735 tonnes as compared to 632,868 tonnes in the comparable month last year.
In the first five months of the current oil year (November 2010-October 2011), however, total imports averaged a total decline of 16.5 per cent to 3.13 million tonnes, as compared to 3.75 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.
SEA executive director B V Mehta attributed the decline to four factors — higher production of oilseeds during kharif and rabi season, increased crushing activity boosting local availability, good crushing parity due to high prices of oil and export demand for oilmeals and negative margin in import and high prices of edible oil pulling demand growth down.
Mehta clarified that import had increased substantially in November 2009-March 2010 due to less crushing during the season. However, this year situation was different and hence the negative growth.
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As a consequence, the current stock position both, at the port and in the pipeline, also declined 12 per cent to 1.35 million tonnes as on April 1 as compared to 1.53 million tonnes a month ago. The current stock position is the least in the first five months of the ongoing oil year.
Between November and March of the current oil year, import of RBD palmolein was down by 24 per cent at 461,034 tonnes as compared to 608,523 tonnes during the same period last year. The share of refined oil stood at 15 per cent. Contribution of crude oil in the overall import basket during the first five months of the current oil year was recorded at 85 per cent and reported at 2.56 million tonnes as compared to 2.98 million tonnes during corresponding period of the previous year.
Palm oil import in the first five months of the current oil year was reported at 2.35 million tonnes, as compared to 2.81 million tonnes during the same period of last year. Similarly, soft oil imports decreased to 677,746 tonnes as compared to 773,218 tonnes last year.