The Hindu Business Line : Alarming rise in edible oil import value

IT is common knowledge that India left China behind and became the world's largest importer of vegetable oil with inflows of about 4.4 million tonnes in 1998-99, incidentally the year of record indigenous oilseeds output at 24.8 mt.

For five years, India doggedly held on to the position of being the world's leading importer. In 2003-04, China has regained the top spot with projected import of 6.8 mt versus India's projected import of 4.4 mt.

India's edible oil imports between 1998-99 and 2002-03 (oil year basis) ranged between the low of 4.4 mt and the high of 5.1 mt, representing anything between 40 and 50 per cent of total annual consumption.

The import volumes tell only a part of the story as far as India is concerned. In value terms, imports have been rising consistently and at an alarming rate last two years.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the total value of edible oil imported in fiscal 2000-01 was Rs 6,133 crore which increased to Rs 6,476

crore the following year. 2002-03 saw a major spurt in the value of arrivals, having risen to a new high of Rs 8,771 crore. Provisional figure for 2003-04 is a mind-boggling Rs 11,209 crore.

International vegetable oil prices have been ruling high since October 2003.

Under pressure of large harvests in the US, China and elsewhere, prices are expected to soften from October 2004 onwards. Weather conditions over the next four weeks would be crucial.

A substantial part of the increase in the value of sensitive items imported during 2003-04 was accounted for by one group of commodities, namely edible oil, the Commerce Ministry has noted.

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