Last May, as a measure to reduce the price of oil, the central government announced tax exemption on imports of 20 lakh tonnes each of soya and sunflower oil till March 31, 2023. After this, the import of cooking oil has increased.
In this case, in a statement issued by the Edible Oil Importers Association (SEA),
India’s palm oil imports in July stood at 5,30,420 tonnes. In June
Import of palm oil was 5,90,921 lakh tonnes. Meanwhile, imports of soy oil in July were up 125 percent from last month, ie. increased to 5,19,566 tonnes. In the case of sunflower oil, there was an increase of 30 per cent to 1,55,300 tonnes.
It says so.
At the end of June, soy oil prices were $150 a tonne lower than palm oil. Moreover, due to the 5.5 percent import duty on palm oil, traders feel that the price of palm oil is high. Again, the price differential between soy and palm oil widened to $350 per tonne for a few weeks in July. This has led importers to turn to palm oil imports.
Imports of palm oil have decreased significantly due to the increase in soya oil imports. This has created an environment where Malaysian and Indonesian sellers have to offer discounts to recapture the market.
Meanwhile, palm oil imports increased again to over 7 lakh tonnes in August. The Mumbai-based firm said it has seen an increase in purchases of palm oil since the price hike in July.