Vegetable oil imports rose by 18 per cent to almost 92 lakh tonnes (LT) in the first 11 months of the current oil year on the back of rise in inbound shipments of refined palm oil, sunflower and canola oil.

The country imported 89,63,353 tonnes of edible oil and 1,93,104 tonnes of non—edible oil in the first 11 months of the 2011—12 against 74,93,660 tonnes of edible and 2,79,524 tonnes of non—edible oil in the year—ago period.

“During November, 2011 to September, 2012, the import of RBD palmolein is up by 84 per cent at 15,15,812 tonnes compared to 9,61,936 tonnes during the same period of last year,” Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.

The share of refined oils increased to 17 per cent, while that of crude oil decreased to 83 per cent during the November — September period of 2011—12 oil year, it added.

SEA said that import of sunflower oil rose to 10,49,181 tonnes in the November—October of 2011—12 compared to 7,39,173 tonnes in the year—ago period.

“Sunflower oil is a major contributor in meeting demand for soft oil, as sunflower oil prices have been attractive compared to soybean oil. Currently the premium on sunflower oil over soybean oil is just $11 per ton and also sunflower oil is a preferred oil by housewives in India,” it added.

“Also, India has started importing canola oil and bought about 90,000 tonnes during last 8 months compared to 3,601 tonnes during same period of last year, mainly due to lesser local crushing of rapeseed due to disparity,” SEA said.

The import of vegetable oils increased by 9 per cent in September this year at 9,93,912 tonnes compared to 9,12,341 tonnes in the same month last year.

The total stock of vegetable oil, both at ports and in pipelines decreased by 1,00,000 to 14,50,000 tonnes as of October 1 due to reduced local production and festival demand compared to last month, SEA said.

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