Import of edible oil drops 50% in two months on 5% safeguard duty

India’s import of refined edible oil has declined by a little over 50 per cent in the past two months, after the Union government imposed a 5 per cent “safeguard duty” in response to pleas from the processing industry.

The data compiled by the apex industry body, Solvent Extractors Association (SEA), shows import of refined, bleached and de-odorised (RBD) oil declined 53 per cent to 123,000 tonnes in November, from 264,000 tonnes in September. The safeguard duty was imposed on August 26 on RBD palmolein, primarily imported from Malaysia.

That was right after critical remarks by the Malaysian prime minister on India’s