India's vegetable oil imports are likely to increase to 93-95 lakh tonnes during the next oil year, ending October, 2011, an expert said.
"For the next oil year (November, 2010, to October, 2011), Indian vegetable oil imports will expand further to between 9.3 and 9.5 million tonnes," Dorab Mistry said in Mumbai recently.
The country's vegetable oil imports during the current year are expected to amount to around nine million tonnes.
According to the Solvent Extractors' Association, during the first ten months of the current oil year, India's overall imports of vegetable oil rose to 74.47 lakh tonnes, up by five per cent from 70.70 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
Mistry, however, said it was too early to say what oil India would import next year, but he had no doubt that sunflower oil imports would decline due to high prices.
"Higher soya oil tonnages will depend on the price relationship with palm. Also, do bear in mind these estimates are tentative because rapeseed has not even been planted," he added.
According to Mistry, India is likely to import 72 lakh tonnes of palm oil, 15 lakh tonnes of soyabean oil and four lakh tonnes each of sunflower and lauric oils in the next oil year.
India's edible oil consumption has grown by 6.5 per cent per annum since 2000-01 and currently stands at 147 lakh tonnes, valued at $15 billion, which is expected to go up to 200 lakh tonnes in 2015, according to Rabo India Finance.
