September 29, 2008
India rapeseed area to fall if vegetable oil imports not taxed
India's rapeseed acreage during the winter planting season starting October will likely fall unless the government imposes the import duty on crude edible oils again, Dorab Mistry, director of Godrej International, a London-based trading firm, said Friday (September 29).
"The government should impose an import duty of around 10 percent on edible oils to support farmers," Mistry said.
India had scrapped the import duty on crude edible oils and reduced it on refined edible oils to 7.5 percent in order to boost imports and curb local prices following a surge in oil prices in March.
He also said the government should stop importing edible oil through the public distribution system as prices have fallen sharply recently due to these purchases.
India's federal government has plans to import 1 million tonnes of edible oils to distribute them to lower income households at subsidized rates.