Vegetable oil import falls 23% in June due to rupee depreciation

Vegetable oils' import fell by 23 per cent in June to 10.42 lakh tonnes on rupee depreciation, custom duty structure and credit-crunch in the market, according to edible oil industry body SEA.

"Import of vegetable oils during June 2018 is reported at 10,42,003 tonnes compared to 13,44,868 tonnes in June 2017 down by 23 per cent," Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.

The current duty structure coupled with rupee depreciation and credit crunch in the market has slow down the import, it added.

While import of edible oil fell to 10,07,563 tonnes in June from 12,93,777 tonnes in the year-ago period, the shipments of non-edible oils declined to 34,440 tonnes from 51,091 tonnes during the review period.

During November 2017 to June 2018, the import of vegetable oils (comprising edible oil and non-edible oil) fell by 2 per cent to 96,46,538 tonnes as against 98,67,572 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Oil year runs from November to October.

"In last one year, in the international market, prices of edible oils have gone down by 2 to 10 per cent due to larger supply, and at the same time rupee depreciation by nearly 5 per cent in one year, nullified the advantage of price reduction," SEA said.

During November-June period of 2017-18 oil year, SEA said that the overall palm oil import has decreased to 55,57,723 tonnes from 59,25,563 tonnes. Soft oils (like soyabean) import increased to 38,43,053 tonnes from 36,90,395 tonnes during the same period of last year. Also a parcel of 3,000 tonnes of cottonseed oil from US arrived during April 2018.