 "Veg oil imports to rise 8% to record levels")
Vegetable oil import is likely to rise by eight per cent this oil year (November 2014-October 2015), to a record 12.7 million tonnes, due to a steep decline in rabi season output due to unseasonal rain and hail in major producing centres.
Import was 11.6 mt in the period between November 2013 and October 2014. In the November 2014-February 2015 period, import rose 23 per cent to nearly 4.2 mt, as against 3.42 mt in the same period last year.
Intermittent rain and hail in March, the crop maturing period, are expected to have damaged standing rapeseed and mustard seed in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Experts say 10-12 per cent of rabi oilseed output has been lost.
“It is too early to assess the mustard crop,” said Dorab Mistry, director, Godrej International. He forecasts vegetable oil import at 12.5 mt, slightly lower than the latest estimate by the Central Organization for Oil Industry & Trade (COOIT).
While announcing its oilseed output estimate for the rabi season, COOIT forecast India’s vegetable oil import at 12.7 mt, including 12.5 mt of edible oil for the current year ending October.
With a 28 per cent decline in groundnut output to 1.28 mt, overall rabi oilseed production is expected to decline by 17 per cent to 7.7 mt this year as compared to 9.19 mt in the same season last year. COOIT says deficiency of soil moisture during the sowing season reduced the area to 8.4 mn hectares this year from 9.14 mn ha the previous year. Coupled with crop damage in the harvesting season, this is expected to hit overall seed availability substantially.
As a consequence, total vegetable oil availability from kharif and rabi oilseed crops for 2014-15 is estimated at 7.61 mt, compared to nearly 8.4 mt last year, a fall of 9.1 per cent or 0.76 mt.
Import was 11.6 mt in the period between November 2013 and October 2014. In the November 2014-February 2015 period, import rose 23 per cent to nearly 4.2 mt, as against 3.42 mt in the same period last year.
Intermittent rain and hail in March, the crop maturing period, are expected to have damaged standing rapeseed and mustard seed in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Experts say 10-12 per cent of rabi oilseed output has been lost.
“It is too early to assess the mustard crop,” said Dorab Mistry, director, Godrej International. He forecasts vegetable oil import at 12.5 mt, slightly lower than the latest estimate by the Central Organization for Oil Industry & Trade (COOIT).
While announcing its oilseed output estimate for the rabi season, COOIT forecast India’s vegetable oil import at 12.7 mt, including 12.5 mt of edible oil for the current year ending October.
With a 28 per cent decline in groundnut output to 1.28 mt, overall rabi oilseed production is expected to decline by 17 per cent to 7.7 mt this year as compared to 9.19 mt in the same season last year. COOIT says deficiency of soil moisture during the sowing season reduced the area to 8.4 mn hectares this year from 9.14 mn ha the previous year. Coupled with crop damage in the harvesting season, this is expected to hit overall seed availability substantially.
As a consequence, total vegetable oil availability from kharif and rabi oilseed crops for 2014-15 is estimated at 7.61 mt, compared to nearly 8.4 mt last year, a fall of 9.1 per cent or 0.76 mt.
“We, therefore, urge the government to reduce import duty on oilseeds to 5-10 per cent from the existing 30 per cent, to increase domestic crushing,” said B V Mehta, executive director, The Solvent Extractors’ Association.
India’s vegetable oil demand rises 0.9-1 mt every year on a growing population, subdued price trend and increasing purchasing power of the middle class. Indonesia and Malaysia, the major global producers, have excess supply and both have reduced their export duty to nil.
In sum, India’s dependence on imported veg oil is set to increase to 62.5 per cent of the total supply this year, as against 58.5 per cent the previous year.
India’s vegetable oil demand rises 0.9-1 mt every year on a growing population, subdued price trend and increasing purchasing power of the middle class. Indonesia and Malaysia, the major global producers, have excess supply and both have reduced their export duty to nil.
In sum, India’s dependence on imported veg oil is set to increase to 62.5 per cent of the total supply this year, as against 58.5 per cent the previous year.