India to cut soybean oil duties to secure US deal

India is partially opening up its agricultural sector to a deal with the US. Specifically, a reduction in the soybean oil tariff is expected to make US supplies more competitive with those from South America and put pressure on palm oil prices, said Aashish Acharya, vice president of Patanjali Foods Ltd., one of India’s largest vegetable oil buyers.

India, the world’s largest importer of palm, soybean, and sunflower oils, purchases approximately 16 million tonnes of vegetable oil annually, primarily from producers in Southeast Asia and South America.

According to a joint statement with the US on a framework agreement for an interim trade deal, the world’s most populous country agreed to reduce or eliminate import tariffs on US food and agricultural products, including dry grain residues, red sorghum for animal feed, soybean oil, nuts, and fresh and processed fruits. India also agreed to eliminate long-standing non-tariff barriers to trade in US food and agricultural products.

According to a June report by McKinsey & Co., the Indian agricultural sector is valued at $580–650 billion and is expected to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2035.

Tags: USA, duties, sorghum, DDGS, soybean oil, India