REUTERS
A worker at a cooking oil plant in Indonesia. Indian stakeholders are
urging a hike in the import duty on refined oils from the current 10 per
cent to 25 per cent.
Oilseeds output seen down by 2 million tonnes on lower coverage of kharif crops
Bangalore, September 10:
Kharif oilseeds
output may decline by up to two million tonnes over last year as the
area under the crops has declined due to poor monsoon coverage,
according to the solvent extraction industry. This could fuel a record
import of edible oils next season starting November, with industry
pegging shipments at some 12 million tonnes.
This
could spare consumers as prices are unlikely to rise during the festival
season ahead as prices in the global market are ruling lower. However,
growers may face the impact as higher and cheaper imports will exert
pressure on prices of oilseeds such as groundnut and soyabean. Harvest
of these crops are set to begin from next month.
“We expect the oilseeds output to decline by about 1.5 to 2 million tonnes over last year, presuming that rabi production would be normal,” said BV Mehta, Executive Director, Solvent Extractors Association of India. Last kharif, the edible oilseed production stood at over 20 million tonnes.
Till
the first week of September, oilseeds were planted on about 173.43 lakh
ha, nine per cent lower than last year’s 188.93 lakh ha.
Crop
statistician, GG Patel of GGN Research said the oilseed crop will be
lower than last year on drop in acreage, but it would be too early to
quantify the crop size at this stage. A clearer picture on the crop size
may emerge by October-end, Patel said.
Edible oil
imports are rising by about 7-8 lakh tonnes a year on rising domestic
demand. The per capita consumption is increasing by 3-4 per cent every
year, Mehta said. The total edible oil consumption is currently
estimated at around 18 mt.
India’s edible oil
imports, which stood at 8.37 mt in 2010-11 rose to 10.38 mt in 2012-13
and are poised to touch 11 mt in the current season ending October.
“Imports
are cheaper now as global prices have declined by 10-15 per cent over
last year on surplus availability of palm oil, soyabean and sunflower,”
Mehta said.
Further, the prices, especially of palm
oil are expected to remain depressed, influenced by the recent decline
in crude oil prices. The drop in crude oil prices will curb the
diversion of palm oil to biodiesel, Mehta said.
Dumping Ground
Mehta
said rising imports of edible oil has made India a dumping ground for
countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, key producers of palm oil that
are seen boosting exports through duty cuts. “There is a need to
protect the domestic farmers from rising imports or else they will move
away from oilseed cultivation. In this context, we will be urging the
Government soon to hike the import duty on refined oils from the current
10 per cent to 25 per cent. We also want the Government to raise import
duty on crude palm oil from the current 2.5 per cent to 10 per cent,”
Mehta said.
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