Imports of sensitive items, including fruits, vegetables and edible oils, went up by 40.9 per cent year—on—year to Rs 92,574 crore during April—February last fiscal.

The value of sensitive items imported during the year—ago period was Rs 65,695 crore.

Imports of fruit and vegetables soared by 75.3 per cent to Rs 8,374 crore during the 11—month period last fiscal, from Rs 4,776 crore during April—February of 2010—11, a Commerce Ministry official said.

Items such as foodgrains, automobiles, milk and beverages fall in the sensitive category and the import of these goods are monitored by the government to see if there is any adverse impact on the domestic industry.

Imports of edible oils rose by 54.7 per cent to Rs 42,262.72 crore from Rs 27,314 crore during April—February 2011.

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

During the 11—months of last fiscal, the import of items such as alcoholic beverages and spices also increased by 55.5 per cent and 53.3 per cent, respectively.

Imports of products of small scale industries such as umbrellas, locks, toys and glassware went up by 53 per cent to Rs 2,034.7 crore.

Automobile imports jumped by 43.5 per cent year—on—year in April—February 2012 to Rs 3,321 crore. Similarly, milk imports too increased by 33.2 per cent during the period.

However, imports of foodgrains contracted 93 per cent.

Imports of sensitive items from countries like Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Argentina, Germany, Korea, the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, and Australia have gone up, while those from Brazil have gone down.

The gross import of all commodities during April—February 2012 was Rs 20,69,643 crore as compared to Rs 15,29,295 crore during the same period of last year.

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