Vegetable oil imports rose 27.51 per cent in March as Indian edible oil processors and refiners stocked up amid fears of a further rise in prices.
Total imports of vegetable oil surged to 641,141 tonnes in March as compared to 502,827 tonnes in the corresponding month last year.
According to data compiled by the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), overall import of vegetable oil in the first five months of the oil year (November-October) rose 59 per cent to 3,592,692 tonnes from 2,264,497 tonnes in the same period last year.
“It is surprising that imports are rising on a monthly basis in spite of huge stocks at Indian ports and in the pipeline, even ignoring the global price rise in the last three months. It seems the domestic oil availability has reduced due to a lesser kharif crop and the current rape-mustard crop is not fully marketed as farmers are waiting for a better price and in the process, imports are rising to an unprecedented level,” a SEA release said.
| OIL SLICK Import of vegetable oils | ||
| March '09 | March '08 | |
| Edible oil | 6,09,553 | 4,21,686 |
| Non-edible oil | 31,588.00 | 81,141 |
| Total | 6,41,141 | 5,02,827 |
| Figures in tonnes | ||
| * According to SEA data, overall import of vegetable oil in the first five months of the oil year (November-October) jumped 59 per cent to 3,592,692 tonnes from 2,264,497 tonnes last year | ||
| * The import of edible oils jumped by over 1.5 million tonnes to 3.43 million tonnes so far this oil year as compared to 1.93 million tonnes in the same period last year | ||
| * Edible oil prices, which had touched bottom levels during November-December 2008, have recovered in the last three months | ||
It is also true that with the lower price on account of zero duty, consumption has increased substantially, it added.
The import of edible oils jumped by over 1.5 million tonnes to 3.43 million tonnes so far this oil year as compared to 1.93 million tonnes in the same period last year.
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Edible oil prices, which had touched bottom levels during November-December 2008, have recovered in the last three months. Since January this year, the average prices of refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palmolein imports in Indian ports surged over 23 per cent to $800 a tonne from $650 a tonne. Similarly, crude palm oil, crude soybean oil and crude sunflower oil jumped to $725, $825 and $840 a tonne on April 13 from $563, $763 and $788 respectively in January this year.
However, in the domestic market, edible oils responded to local demand and supply with prices of RBD palmolein jumping 25 per cent to Rs 41,500 a tonne as on April 13 from the average January prices of Rs 33,380. The price trend in crude palm oil, crude soybean oil, sunflower oil and rapeseed oil remained mixed at Rs 36,500, Rs 43,700, Rs 42,500 and Rs 49,000 a tonne as on April 13 from the average prices in January at Rs 28,252, Rs 44,016, Rs 43,440 and Rs 56,904 respectively.
The very purpose of withdrawal of the duty on soybean oil in March was defeated with the rise in domestic prices of edible oils in the last one month.
“Import of RBD palmolein is rising fast and unfortunately, the same is mainly used for unofficial blending with many domestic oils, being the cheapest in the market. This is unethical blending, if not stopped by appropriate policy measures and checks, RBD palmolein import will further increase adversely affecting domestic crushers and refiners,” the release said.
Import of sunflower oil is gaining in market share and was reported at 286,337 tonnes in the first five months compared to nil in the same period of last year. This has pulled down the local prices of sunflower seed to Rs 1,900-2,000 a quintal, much below the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,215, which can prove detrimental to the farmers’ interests.