The total import of 300 sensitive tariff lines in the first half of the current financial year has grown by 9 per cent to Rs 6,040 crore compared to Rs 5,551 crore in the corresponding period of the last financial year.
According to the ministry of commerce and industry, the import of two major commodity groups of edible oils and cotton and silk, with 33 tariff lines, spurted by almost 20 per cent in the first half this year. These two groups, which accounted for 79.4 per cent of the total imports during April-September 2000 have further increased their share in the total imports to 87.6 per cent.
The data released by the directorate general of foreign trade also revealed a sharp drop in the import of fruits and vegetables by 52 per cent to Rs 397.49 crore from Rs 827.6 crore during April-September 2000. Fruits and vegetables account for a chunk of 48 tariff lines of the total 300 sensitive lines.
While the total import of sensitive items showed a decline of 4.5 per cent in the first quarter this year compared to April-June 2000 based on the final data till June 2001, the ministry has said the growth in the second quarter might well turn positive. The growth has been primarily due to the spurt in import of crude edible oil particularly soyabean.
Excluding crude edible oil, the imports of other sensitive items have dropped by 10 per cent in the April-September period this year.
At the broad level of commodities, imports of spices, rubber, marble and granite indicated an increase. Though fruits and vegetables imports declined 52 per cent, that of pistachios and apples posted 100 per cent increase. Imports of pistachios were up to Rs 67 crore from Rs 31 crore and that of apples doubled from Rs 12 crore to Rs 24 crore. In the case of marbles and granite, though the percentage increase has been as high as 140 per cent, the aggregate import of Rs 8.49 crore was not significant in relation to the size of the domestic production, the ministry pointed out.
While imports from Brazil, Denmark, USA, Nigeria, Iran, Greece, Syria and Chile have shown an increase, that from Indonesia, Malaysia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Russia, Guinnea Bissau, Thailand and New Zealand dropped.
Sudden spurt in import of soyabean oil
The data released by the directorate general of foreign trade in the ministry of commerce and industry has revealed that import of soyabean oil during April-September 2001 has gone up by Rs 1,200 crore compared to the first half of the last fiscal.
The ministry has hence decided to take up the issue of the sudden increase for an in-depth study to be conducted in consultation with the ministry of agriculture and domestic trade bodies.
According to the ministry, the imports of edible oil increased from Rs 3,244.89 crore in April-September 2000 to Rs 3,798.01 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. While soyabean and palm crude oil imports have gone up during the period, that of refined soyabean and palm oil have dropped.
The increase in imports of crude edible oil has led to better utilisation of the processing capacity in the country, the ministry said. Import of sunflower oil, both crude and refined, has also dropped.
