Industry association urges govt to allow import of only crude palm oil

Edible oil industry body SEA on Thursday said it has urged the government to allow import of only crude palm oil and place all refined oils under the restricted category of trade.

Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) - in a recent virtual meeting with Food Ministry Secretary Sudhansu Pandey on ways to boost domestic production and reduce import of edible oils - also requested the government to provide more incentive for export of groundnut.

SEA, in a statement, said the association in the meeting discussed in detail about the scope of the industry and suggested a few actionable points.

One of the recommendations made was to allow import of only crude palm oil and keep all refined oils under the restricted category, it said.

The government has kept only RBD Palmolien in the restricted category of trade since January this year. The country imports annually about 14-15 million tonnes of edible oils to meet domestic demand.

To increase domestic production of oilseeds, the SEA has urged the government to provide higher incentives for R&D and improved seed of various varieties of oilseeds.

SEA President Atul Chaturvedi and senior officials of the association participated in the meeting. A presentation was also made, outlining the action plan for the next ten years for enhancing production and productivity of oilseeds.

JR Agro Industries Managing Director Ajay Jhunjhunwala suggested in the meetingthat the government should impose goods and service tax of 5 per cent on Deoiled Rice bran for achieving the ease of doing business in rice bran processing and selling, the statement added.