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India will extend low-duty edible oil imports by another year until March 2025, the government said in a notification issued late on Monday (Jan 15, 2024) as the world's largest vegetable oil importer moved to limit local prices.
The lower import duty framework on crude palm oil, crude sunflower oil and crude soyoil was scheduled to expire in March 2024.
"The decision was expected as the government is keen to keep prices under control ahead of the elections," said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of vegetable oil brokerage Sunveen Group.
India's annual retail inflation rose at its fastest pace in four months in December, driven by a rise in prices of some food items. To lower prices, the government banned wheat exports in 2022 and banned foreign shipments of non-Basmati white rice last year.
New Delhi has also stopped sugar exports to mills this year. India will continue to ban exports of wheat, rice and sugar for the time being, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday.
"The notification is not changing the current tariff structure. Hence, there will be no impact on local prices or import patterns," Bajoria said.
India mainly buys palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while imports soybean and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. India's palm oil imports rose to a four-month high in December as purchases of refined palmolein increased due to competitive prices.
Source: Online/GFMM
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