Import Of 300 Sensitive Items Dips 11.18 Per Cent

The government today announced that the import of 300 sensitive items decreased 11.18 per cent to Rs 1,411 crore during April and May 2001 compared to Rs 1,589 crore in the corresponding period last year.

According to the provisional data for the first two months since the complete removal of quantitative restrictions on 10,202 tariff lines, tea, coffee, spices, cotton, silk, marble and granite imports registered an increase, while all the other nine categories showed a decrease.

On the basis of the country of origin, the data reveal an increase in imports from Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Tanzania, Vietnam, Egypt and Ethiopia.

Imports of the sensitive tariff lines from China have registered a 28 per cent decrease, a government release said and added that imports of dry fruits from Pakistan have gone up from Rs 1.67 crore in April-May last year to Rs 3.38 crore in the same period this year.