Import of sensitive items up 40% in April-Sept

Led by edible oils, import of sensitive items shot up 39.9 per cent to Rs 48,274 crore in the April-September period of this fiscal.

India’s imports of sensitive items stood at Rs 34,516 crore in the year-ago period. In particular, edible oil, fruits and vegetables registered a huge jump in imports.

Imports of edible oils rose by 63.5 per cent to Rs 21,852.77 crore in April-September 2011, from Rs 13,367.32 crore in the year-ago period. India is the world’s largest importer of edible oils and one of the largest consumers, a senior Commerce Ministry official said.

“The increase in edible oil import is mainly due to substantial increase in import of crude palm oil and its fractions,” the official added.

The sensitive items are those which impact farmers and small-scale industries and increase in their imports can hurt these sectors.

Import of fruits and vegetables went up 85.5 per cent to Rs 5,075.71 crore, from Rs 2,736.79 crore in April-September 2010.

Food inflation stood at 10.60 per cent for the week ending October 8 on the back of costlier vegetables, fruits, milk and protein-based items. The rate of price rise of food items has, however, fallen sharply since then.

Vegetables had become 17.59 per cent more expensive year-on-year during the week ended October 8. Fruits grew dearer by 12.39 per cent on an annual basis.

During the first half of the current fiscal, imports of items such as alcoholic beverages and spices also increased by 40.7 per cent and 66.5 per cent, respectively.

Imports of products of small-scale industries such as umbrellas, locks, toys and glassware too went up by 46.3 per cent to Rs 1,058.31 crore, compared to the year-ago period.

Automobile imports jumped by 92 per cent in April- September, to Rs 1,926.46 crore from Rs 1,003.62 crore in the same period last year.

However, imports of foodgrain, milk and milk products, and pulses contracted by 94.3 per cent, 22.1 per cent, and 0.8 per cent, respectively. India is a net importer of pulses.

Milk and dairy product imports declined to Rs 354.74 crore during the period under review.

The official did not comment on the reason behind the contraction. Import of sensitive items accounted for 4.6 per cent of the country’s total imports during the period.

Gross imports of all commodities in April-September 2011, stood at Rs 10,55,339 crore from Rs 8,11,773 crore in the same period last year.

Sensitive-items import from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Germany, the US, Canada, Japan, Thailand and the UK have gone up, while those from Myanmar and Australia have fallen.

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