Page 8 - Import

Edible oil imports up by 39.31% to 13.11 lakh tonnes in June on high demand

India's import of edible oils grew by 39.31 per cent in June to 13.11 lakh tonnes compared to the same month last year due to increased demand, industry body Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said on Friday. Edible oil import in June 2022 stood at 9.41 lakh tonnes, SEA said in a statement. The overall imports of vegetable oils (edible and non-edible) grew by 49 per cent to 13.14 tonnes in June compared to 9.91 lakh tonnes in the corresponding month last year. The imports consisted of 2,900 tonnes of non-edible oils which are mainly imported by soap and oleo-chemical industries. With a sharp reduction in domestic prices of edible oils, demand has returned which is evident from the rising import in spite of better domestic availability, the SEA added. The import of crude palm oil recovered to 4.66 lakh tonnes in June compared to 3.48 lakh tonnes in the previous month. The import of RBD Palmolien jumped to 2.17 lakh tonnes from 85,000 tonnes in the previous month, ...

India-China trade witnesses first signs of slowdown in years: Report

The India-China trade, which in recent years rose sharply despite bilateral tensions over the border dispute, showed the first signs of a slowdown in years falling by 0.9 per cent in the first half of this year. This came as China's overall foreign trade declined by about five per cent as its economy struggled to recover from COVID blues. China's exports to India in the first half of this year totalled USD 56.53 billion compared to USD 57.51 billion last year registering a decline of 0.9 per cent, according to the data released by Chinese customs on Thursday. India's exports to China during the same period totalled USD 9.49 billion compared to USD 9.57 billion last year. The trade deficit in the first half of 2023 too declined significantly to USD 47.04 compared to USD 67.08 billion last year. Last year was a bumper year for India-China trade as it touched an all-time high of USD 135.98 billion despite the continued chill in the bilateral ties over the military standoff in eastern

India's consumption is rising as global prices have eased: Gas importer

Eased gas prices, triggered by the built-up of stocks by European nations, is boosting gas consumption in the price-sensitive Indian market

Export, import cost may rise from Jan 2027 from decarbonisation measures

Decarbonisation measures for the global shipping industry to reduce carbon emissions in the coming years may increase the cost of doing exports and imports from January 2027, a report by think tank GTRI said on Monday. The 175-member International Maritime Organization (IMO) notified its strategy on July 7 to decarbonise the global shipping sector and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the Global Trade Research Institute (GTRI) said It added that IMO has also set interim targets for reducing emissions by 20-30 per cent by 2030 and 70-80 per cent by 2040, compared to 2008. It added that IMO has also suggested the shipping industry to switch to cleaner fuel. "By 2030 cleaner fuel must account for a minimum 5 per cent total fuel use. IMO will notify detailed measures next year. While IMO recommendations are not legally binding, countries are expected to achieve the targets set. This year, few countries pushed for a flat tax of USD 100 per tonne of carbon emission by ships, yet IMO ..

India's April-May finished steel imports from China at six-year high

In April and May, China emerged as the second-biggest steel exporter to India, selling 0.2 million metric tons of the alloy, up 62% from the same period a year earlier

Importers must hedge near-term exposures on dollar rally risk, say analysts

The greenback is projected to strengthen against most Asian currencies in the July-September quarter, with a rate hike by the Fed at its July meeting now a near certainty

Decision to cut import duty on US apples to harm Himachal farmers: Cong

The Congress on Tuesday condemned the central government's decision to reduce import duty on Washington (American) apples from 70 per cent to 50 per cent and said it would harm the interest of farmers of Himachal Pradesh. In a statement issued here, All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Rathore, who is also the sitting Congress MLA from Theog assembly seat (apple belt), said that the decision would cause harm to the apple industry of Himachal Pradesh. "The apple growers are already under severe crisis due to an increase in the production cost following a rise in prices of pesticides, fungicides, labour and other packing materials caused due to inflation under the BJP rule," he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also failed to keep his promise of increasing import duty on apples up to 100 per cent as promised during the election campaign in Himachal Pradesh in the previous Lok Sabha Election campaign, he said. He demanded that the Union government shoul

US market share in apples, almonds, and walnuts plunged in five years

Similarly, the US-dominated as the source of shelled walnuts for India at 70% share in FY18 with Chile at a distant second with a 29.7% share

India to remove retaliatory customs duties on eight US-origin products

The duties on these eight US-origin products would revert to the current applied most-favoured-nation (MFN) rate after India notifies the rescinding of additional duties

ONGC chief expects Russian oil to make up 30% of India's imports: Interfax

Russia has been redirecting its energy supplies from Western countries which have imposed restrictions and sanctions on trade with Moscow

Customs clearance time for imports drops 11% at air cargo complexes

The average time taken for customs clearance of imports has dropped 11 per cent at air cargo complexes and 9 per cent across seaports, a CBIC study showed on Thursday. The National Time Release Study (NTRS) 2023, presents the average cargo release time for seaports, air cargo complexes (ACCs), inland container depots (ICDs) and integrated check posts (ICPs), which account for approximately 80 per cent of bills of entry and 70 per cent of shipping bills filed in the country. "The average import release time has continued to improve, achieving 20 per cent reduction in release time for ICDs; 11 per cent reduction for ACCs; and 9 per cent reduction for seaports in 2023 over 2022," the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) statement said. In absolute terms, the import release time for seaports, ICDs, ACC and ICPs is 85:42 hrs, 71:46 hrs, 44:16 hrs and 31:47 hrs, respectively. The Time Release Study measures the time taken from the arrival of the cargo at the Customs station

India's trade deficit rises to $22.12 bn in May, highest since Dec 2022

In May, imports fell 6.6% to $57.1 billion, and exports declined 10.3% to $34.98 billion

Chinese textiles coming to India to be tested for Azo dyes presence

Textiles and its products coming from China into India will now have to test for the presence of Azo dyes as Beijing has been excluded from the revised exempted list, according to the commerce ministry. The foreign trade policy (FTP) has a list of countries, which are exempted from testing for the presence of this dye in textiles and its articles. The UK has been included in this list, while China was removed. These countries include European Union nations, Serbia, Poland, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea and the UK. The DGFT has updated the list of countries, which are exempted from testing for the presence of Azo dyes in textiles and textile articles Azo dyes are mainly used in sectors like textile, fibre and leather. Revising the list by amending an appendix of the FTP, a public notice of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said the "list of countries exempted from testing for the presence of azo dyes in textiles and textiles articles is updated".

Smart home security camera import shipments grew 48% in Q1 2023: Report

India's smart home security camera shipments grew 48 per cent year-over-year (YoY) in the first quarter (Q1) of this year-- January to March, a report said on Wednesday

Centre imposes stock limits on wheat till March 2024 to check prices

For the first time in 15 years, the government on Monday imposed stockholding limits on wheat with immediate effect till March 2024 in order to contain rising prices of the key commodity. The government also decided to offload 15 lakh tonnes of wheat to bulk consumers and traders from the central pool in the first phase under the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS). "There has been an uptick in wheat prices in the past month. There has been an increase of close to 8 per cent at mandi level. Though wholesale and retail prices have not gone up that much, the government has imposed stock limit on wheat..." Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra told reporters here. The stock limit has been imposed on traders, wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers and processors till March 31, 2024. On reducing wheat import duty, the Secretary said there are no plans to tweak the policy as the country has enough supplies and even the ban on wheat exports would continue. "The country has enough stock of wheat.

Robust trade ecosystem crucial to achieve $2 trn exports by 2030: DGFT

A robust and easy trade finance ecosystem is important for India to achieve the USD 2 trillion exports target by 2030, a senior government official said on Thursday. Additional Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) S C Aggarwal said easy availability of affordable trade finance helps promote export competitiveness. Traders and the government have to work on issues like obtaining easy finance both for domestic and cross-border trade, he said. "A robust and easy trade finance ecosystem is very important for moving us to achieve this goal (of USD 2 trillion)," Aggarwal said here at an event. India has set an ambitious target to take its total goods and services exports to USD 2 trillion by 2030. According to the commerce ministry's data, exports of goods and services in 2022-23 rose 14.68 per cent to USD 775.87 billion as against USD 676.53 billion in 2021-22. He suggested the industry to focus on how to make it easier to get the finance and ways to strengthen this ecosystem.

IAF chief Chaudhari underlines need to reduce dependence on imports

IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Friday said the key to success lies in increased spending on research and development, coupled with indigenous manufacture of defence equipment. Addressing a conclave here, he also impressed upon the need to reduce dependence on imports. The IAF on Friday shared a tweet highlighting some of the key points made in Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari's speech. "Speaking on the topic of 'Propelling Self Reliance in the Aerospace & Defence Sector' at the 'India Defence Conclave' organised by the @EconomicTimes, #CAS Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari impressed upon the need to reduce dependence on imports," it tweeted. It was followed by more tweets in one thread along with some photographs. The IAF chief advocated an "ABCD approach for achieving strategic autonomy in defence equipment," it tweeted. "Such a methodology would entail ACQUISITION of Indigenous technology, BOOSTING capability with upgrades, CONSERVING capacity through maintenance & ...

Govt caps amount of interest subvention at Rs 10 cr per IEC holder

The government on Thursday capped the amount of interest subvention at Rs 10 crore per IEC (import-export code) holder in one financial year. In March last year, the RBI extended the interest equalisation scheme for pre and post-shipment rupee credit for MSME exporters till March 2024 with the objective of boosting outbound shipments. Exporters get subsidies under the 'Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre and post-shipment Rupee Export Credit'. "The annual net subvention amount would be capped at Rs 10 crore per IEC in a given financial year. All disbursements made from April 1, 2023, shall be counted for an IEC for the current financial year," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a trade notice. The interest equalisation rates under the scheme have been revised to 2 per cent and 3 per cent for specified categories of MSME manufacturer exporters. Import-Export Code (IEC) is an important document required to undertake the business of inbound and outbound shipment

Palm oil import in May to hit 27-mnth low, traders switch to soy, sunflower

The surprising drop in palm oil imports by India, the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils, could bring down palm oil prices

Import of PCs, medical devices, solar cells from China falls in FY23: GTRI

India's imports of electronic goods such as laptops, personal computers (PCs), integrated circuits and solar cells from China declined during 2022-23, according to a report by economic think tank GTRI. The fall in imports is notable in electronic items where the PLI (production linked incentive) scheme is operational, the report by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said. Import of medical equipment declined 13.6 per cent to USD 2.2 billion last fiscal year as compared to 2021-22. Similarly, import of solar cells, parts, diodes slumped 70.9 per cent to USD 1.9 billion in 2022-23. The report stated that import of laptops, PCs slipped 23.1 per cent to USD 4.1 billion and that of mobile phones came down by 4.1 per cent to USD 857 million in last financial year as compared to 2021-22. Inbound shipments of integrated circuits contracted by 4.5 per cent to USD 4.7 billion. Import of urea and other fertilizers declined 26 per cent to USD 2.3 billion in 2022-23. However, import of .