Veg oil imports jump 25% in January ahead of duty hike in Budget 2018

The probability of a duty hike and an empty edible oil pipeline at ports led to a sharp increase in imports in January

India’s vegetable oil imports in January increased by 25 per cent, against a 10 per cent fall in December and a marginal increase in November.

The steep rise was seen ahead of an import duty hike announced in the Budget presented on February 1.

According to data released on Thursday by the Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), imports in January stood at 1.29 million tonnes (mt) compared to 1.03 mt in the corresponding period a year earlier. Overall imports during November to January were up by 6 per cent.

In the Budget, the import duty was raised on several vegetable oils.