AreaIndia

Commodity GroupOilseeds, oils and meals

CommodityVegetable oils

Date01/08/2017

Policy CategoryTrade

Policy InstrumentImport policy

DescriptionRaised import duties on selected crude and refined oils with a view to protect local farmers and oil processors from low-priced imports and thereby encourage domestic oilseed production and refining.

NotesIn India, the world’s top buyer of vegetable oils, import duties on selected crude and refined oils have been raised to protect local farmers from low-priced imports and thereby encourage domestic oilseed production. Reportedly, the concurrence of copious imports with a bumper domestic crop led to stock surges and sharp price falls. The import levies for crude palm oil, refined palm oil and crude soybean oil – have been raised to, respectively, 15 percent, 25 percent and 17.5 percent (up from, respectively, 7.5, 15 and 12.5 percent). By widening the import duty differential between crude and refined palm oil – from 7.5 percent to 10 percent – the Government also aims to assist domestic oil processors, who find it increasingly difficult to compete with imports of low-priced refined oils.