The Government is likely to fetch ₹5,000 crore annually as revenue from the five percentage points hike on import duty for edible oils from the current ₹1,500 crore. On Wednesday, the Centre raised the duty on crude vegetable oils to 7.5 per cent and that of refined oils to 10 per cent.

The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, in a statement, asked the Government to use the additional revenue generated by way of hike in import duty for overall development of oilseeds production and support farmers when prices drop below the minimum support level, it said.

This will encourage farmers to grow more oilseeds and stop imports, said the association.

Terming the recent hike in import duty to support farmers as meagre, it urged the Government to create a duty difference of 15 per cent between crude and refined oil so that the value-addition and capacity utilisation of oil mills improves.

“Under the current scenario, revision of import duty just by five per cent is very meagre to support the farmers for realising better price for his produce and need to be re-looked for higher revision,” said the solvent extractors body.

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