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The Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA) on Monday called on the government to take steps against an "unprecedented surge" in duty-free refined edible oil imports from Nepal under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) framework. Imports from Nepal jumped more than 17-fold in two years, rising to over 804,000 tonnes in 2025 from 47,295 tonnes in 2023, the industry body said in a statement, adding that volumes were on track to reach 1 million tonnes annually, making Nepal one of India's largest suppliers of refined edible oils. IVPA said the increase marked a significant structural shift in India's edible oil trade that required policy attention to keep trade, tariff and domestic value-addition goals aligned. "India has consistently championed regional economic cooperation and remains fully committed to the objectives of the SAFTA Agreement," IVPA President Sudhakar Desai said, adding that the scale of the duty-free imports called for a policy review to protect the ...
The government has asked edible oil processors not to hike retail prices following recent increase in import duties, as there is enough stock of cooking oils that were shipped at a lower duty. The food ministry said the stocks imported at lower duties would easily last 45-50 days, and therefore the processors should refrain from increasing maximum retail prices (MRP). Last week, the Centre implemented an increase in the basic customs duty on various edible oils to support domestic oilseed prices. Effective September 14, 2024, the basic customs duty on crude soyabean oil, crude palm oil, and crude sunflower oil has been raised to 20 per cent from nil, making the effective duty on crude oils to 27.5 per cent. Additionally, the basic customs duty on refined palm oil, refined sunflower oil, and refined soyabean oil has been increased from 12.5 per cent to 32.5 per cent, making the effective duty on refined oils to 35.75 per cent. On Tuesday, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra chaired a mee