The Hindu Business Line : Vanaspati imports from Lanka capped

New Delhi, April 23 In a relief for domestic producers of vanaspati (vegetable fats), the Centre has now stipulated that the total quantum of import of vegetable fats under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would be restricted to 2.5 lakh tonnes a year.

Besides bringing vanaspati and margarine imports from Sri Lanka under a quota system (insisting on Tariff Rate Quota certificate), the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has also placed port restrictions on their imports into the country.

It has also now been specified that the import quota of 2.5 lakh tonnes would be allocated by the Sri Lanka Government in four equal quarterly tranche. Import quota of one quota will not be allowed to be carried out to the next quarter.

Under the new procedure for vanaspati imports, the ports through which imports will be allowed are Mumbai, JNPT/Nhava Sheva, Kandla, Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin, Visakhapatnam, Kolkata, Haldia, Kakinada, New Mangalore, Mormugoa and Mundra. Imports will also be allowed through inland container depots (ICDs) in Tughlakabad, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Indore and Faridabad.

The India-Sri Lanka FTA was signed on December 28,1998 and implemented from March 2000. Under the FTA, zero duty entry of Sri Lankan goods were allowed since March 2003 except for items kept in sensitive/negative list. The balance of trade continues to be in India’s favour, with the country’s exports to Sri Lanka during April-December 2007 at Rs 1,916.13 crore and imports from Sri Lanka in the same period at Rs 330.52 crore.

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