Ruchi Soya Industries welcomes hike in import duty on edible oils

Ruchi Soya on Monday welcomed the hike in import duty on edible oils announced by the government late last week, accompanied by an increase in the duty differential.

The import duty on crude palm oil was increased from 7.5 percent to 15percent, on RBD palm (refined palm oil) from 15percent to 25percent and on crude soft oils like soybean oil from 12.5percent to 17.5percent. The differential duty on import of refined vis-a-vis crude palm oil is now 10percent against 7.5percent earlier.

"We welcome the increase in import duty on edible oils which is a big positive for organised edible oil players, coming on the heels of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The strengthening rupee and low international edible oil prices combined with the earlier duty differential which was favouring import of refined edible oils had led to immense pressure on the domestic industry with many refining facilities on the verge of closure. The increase has come not a moment too soon. This will make domestic refining competitive, in line with the 'Make in India' credo as we move towards nutritional security," said Dinesh Shahra, Founder and Managing Director, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd.

"The increase in duty differential from 7.5percent to 10percent between refined and crude palm oil should bring down the quantum of import of refined palm oil which was swamping the market. This will give an impetus to the domestic refining industry by encouraging import of crude palm oil over refined palm oil," added Satendra Aggarwal, COO, Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd.

"At Ruchi, we foresee a shift from import of RBD palmolein to crude palm oil with a positive impact on our refining capacity utilisation. Currently at 45-50percent, we see this going up to 65-70percent. The increase in capacity utilisation is in turn expected to boost our topline by around 15percent on an annualised basis. This will enable us to regain market share of packed oil sales back from importers and traders of refined oil and will also improve our bottomline by 15 to 20percent," he further said.