Imports of fruit, vegetables, edible oil surged over the year

Imports of sensitive items, which account for 3.5 per cent of India’s import basket, expanded by 27.7 per cent to Rs 45,877 crore in the twelve months ended March 2009.

The sharp increase is mainly on account of fruits and vegetables, automobile parts and edible oil. These three product categories account for more than 80 per cent of sensitive items imported into India.

The rupee, which depreciated by more than 20 per cent in the financial year 2008-09, was the other reason for increase in value of imports of these items. Depreciation of the rupee makes imports costlier for domestic consumers and exports cheaper for overseas buyers.

Overall imports, which includes both sensitive and non-sensitive items, grew at a much faster pace of 29 per cent, to touch Rs 13,05,503 cr in fiscal 2009 as compared to Rs 10,12,312 cr in 2007-08.

Among the sensitive items, imports of fruits and vegetables rose by a fifth to reach Rs 10,979 cr as against Rs 8,774 cr in the year-ago period.

Imports of automobile parts and accessories, which account for nearly a fourth of the sensitive import basket, expanded nearly 45 per cent to Rs 10,534 cr in the April-March 2009 period, up from Rs 7,254 cr in the corresponding period of the previous year. Imports of automobiles in the above period expanded by 19 per cent, to Rs 1,545 cr.

According to a commerce ministry release, there was a significant increase in imports of edible oil, both crude and refined, which registered a jump of 45 per cent. These items account for over a third of total sensitive items imported into the country in the period under consideration. This was primarily due to a 120 per cent increase in imports of refined oil. Moreover, import of crude edible oil expanded 35 per cent to Rs 12,883 cr, compared with Rs 9,583 cr in the previous year.

“The increase in edible oil import is mainly due to substantial rise in import of crude palm oil and its fractions (distillates),” the official statement said.