Veg oil imports up 21 pc in Aug

India, the world's leading vegetable oil buyer, imported 13.61 lakh tonnes of the commodity in August, up about 21 per cent from the year-ago period, industry body SEA said today.
In August 2016, vegetable oil imports stood at 11.26 lakh tonnes. The country largely imports palm oil, which constitutes over 60 per cent of the total shipments.
Out of the total imports undertaken in August this year, edible oil shipments stood at 13.36 lakh tonnes while non- edible oil's share was 24,347 tonnes, Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said in a statement.
The industry body said another 23 lakh tonnes of vegetable oil is expected to be imported in the next two months, taking total shipments to 150 lakh tonnes this year.

During November-August period of the oil year 2016-17, the country imported 127.49 lakh tonnes, which is slightly higher than 121.65 lakh tonnes in the year-ago.
India imports palm oil, mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and a small quantity of crude soft oil, including soyabean oil from Latin America. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.