India Trade Group Concerned Over Sharp Rise In RBD Palm Olein Imports

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, April 4 (Bernama) -- An Indian industry group has raised concerns about a sharp increase in refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palm olein imports from Malaysia following a reduction in the duty differential between crude and refined palm oil. Imports of palm olein reached 300,000 tonnes in March, hitting domestic refiners and mustard seed prices, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said on Wednesday. India's RBD palm olein imports totalled 241,101 tonnes in February and 167,429 tonnes in January. The Indian government cut the duty on crude palm oil (CPO) to 40 per cent from 44 per cent from January, while for refined palm oil it was reduced to 50 per cent from 54 per cent. For RBD palm olein from Malaysia, the tax was reduced from 54 per cent to 45 per cent in line with the Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (MICECA). The reduction in duty difference between CPO and palm olein sourced from Malaysia has resulted in RBD palm olein imports going up from 130,000 tonnes in December to almost 300,000 tonnes in March, the trade group said in a letter to the Finance Ministry. It said domestic farmers and the edible oil refining industry would be hit "if this aberration is not rectified" and sought government measures to raise the duty difference back to 10 per cent between CPO and refined palm oil. India is a major importer of palm oil with local oilseed production insufficient to match its monthly requirement of 1.9 million tonnes of edible oil. -- BERNAMA