India has raised import tax on crude palm oil to 44 percent from 30 percent and lifted the tax on refined palm oil to 54 percent from 40 percent, the government said in a statement on Thursday.
The duty increase will lift oilseed prices and domestic supply for crushing, helping the country to cap edible oil imports in the 2017/18 marketing year, which started on Nov. 1, a dealer said.
India is the world's biggest importer of edible oils. It buys mainly palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyoil from Brazil and Argentina.