India is not considering raising import duties on vegetable oils

The Indian authorities will not raise import duties on edible oils, despite the sharp decline in prices on the local market. This is reported by Financial Express.

Currently, the country’s tax on imports of crude palm, soybean and sunflower oil is 5.5%, while the rate for refined oils is 13.75%.

Earlier, the national association of vegetable oil producers (Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, SEA) initiated the increase of this duty, citing the decline in prices (by 17.3% in April) for mustard oil, which occupies the largest share in the consumer basket.

“Any increase in import duties on edible oils, especially palm, soybean and sunflower, may affect the operation of domestic oil refineries, as the country imports about 56% of its vegoil needs, but purchases most of it in crude form,” said a representative of the Indian Ministry of Food.

It should be noted that the share of crude and refined oil in the total import structure is 75% and 25% respectively. About 14 million tons of edible oils are imported to the Indian market annually.

Tags: mustard oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, India, palm oil