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India’s Edible Oil Import Likely to Fall 1st Time in 7 Years
Thursday, September 27, 2018India’s edible oil import is estimated to register a fall this oil year (from November 2017 to October 2018), first time in seven years. Import of vegetable oils during the 10-month period to August was 12.28 million tons. According to Bharat V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors Association (SEA), estimates for the current oil year in the country would be lower by around 4-5%. Last oil year, import was 15.4 million tons.
India import of vegetable oils (largely edible oil and some non-edible oil for industrial use) have been on the rise for many years and almost tripled in ten years to 15.4 million tons last year. While India’s average reliance on import a decade ago was around 50-55 percent, and the rest was produced in the country, consumer-centric government policies resulted in India’s reliance on oil import rising above 70 percent. This trend is also expected to reverse this year.