Vegetable oil imports increased by 14 per cent to 9,13,179 tonnes in July 2011 against 8,00,644 tonnes in the same period of the previous year, according to the latest industry data.
However, for the first seven months of the current oil year (November 2010—May 2011) vegetable oil imports declined by five per cent to 60,43,403 tonnes compared to 63,82,314 tonnes in the year ago period, according to the Solvent Extractor’s Association (SEA) data.
Oil year runs from November to October. SEA expects import of vegetable oils in the remaining months of the current oil year to increase.
The current stock of edible oils as of August 1, 2011 at various ports is estimated at 5,60,000 tonnes with about 1,00,000 tonnes in the pipeline.
India is estimated to have harvested a record 31.10 million tonnes of oilseeds in 2010—11 crop year (July—June).
India imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyabean oil from Argentina and Brazil.
The country had imported a record 9.2 million tonnes of vegetable oils in 2009—10 oil year to meet domestic demand of 14—15 million tonnes.