Sensitive items import up 34.5% in April-June

Sensitive items import up 34.5% in April-June

Imports of sensitive items, including pulses and edible oil, went up by 34.5% to Rs 21,537 crore in April-June this year, from Rs 16,016 crore in the year-ago period.

The country's pulses imports soared by 27.2% to Rs 2,016.26 crore during the period under review from Rs 1,585.57 crore in April-June 2010, a Commerce Ministry official said.

India is a net importer of pulses.

Items such as foodgrains, automobiles, milk and beverages fall in the sensitive category and the import of these goods is monitored by the government to see if there is any adverse impact on the domestic industry.

Imports of edible oils rose by 51% to Rs 9,145.39 crore in April-June 2011, from Rs 6,055.6 crore in the year-ago period. India is the world's largest importer of edible oil and one of the largest consumer.

"The increase in edible oil import is mainly due to substantial increase in import of crude palm oil and its fractions," the official added.

During the first quarter of the current fiscal, the import of items such as alcoholic beverages and spices also increased by 45.2% and 41.7%, respectively.

Imports of products of small-scale industries such as umbrellas, locks, toys and glassware went up by 53.9% to Rs 483.07 crore during the period under review, compared to the year-ago period.

Automobile imports jumped by 128.8% in April-June 2011, to Rs 992.64 crore from Rs 433.89 crore in April-June 2010.

However, imports of foodgrains, milk and milk products, and tea and coffee contracted by 85.2%, 57.9%, and 36.4%, respectively, in the April-June period.

Milk and dairy product imports declined by to Rs 142.84 crore in the review period from 339.43 crore in April-June 2010.

The official did not comment on the reason behind the contraction.

Import of sensitive items accounted for 4.4% of the country's total imports during the period.

Gross imports of all commodities in April-June 2011, stood at Rs 4,94,763.07 crore, an increase of 33.65% from Rs 3,70,182.12 crore in April-June 2010.

Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Germany, the US, Canada, Japan, Thailand, the UK, Australia and Italy have gone up, while those from Korea, Argentina, Myanmar have gone down.