New Delhi, May 22 Even as India’s imports grew by a hefty 29 per cent in dollar terms in 2008-09, its sensitive items imports too kept up traction by logging a growth of close to 28 per cent in rupee terms.
According to a full-year sensitive import items data released by the Department of Commerce, the import of more than 350 items in fiscal 2008-09 (April to March), amounted to Rs 45,877.3 crore as compared to Rs 35,919.3 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
The gross import of all commodities in 2008-09 was Rs 13,05,503 crore as compared to Rs 10,12,312 crore in 2007-08.
In both the fiscal years 2008-09 and 2007-08, import of sensitive items constituted 3.5 per cent of the gross imports.
Cost factor
Trade policy analysts contend that as in most of 2008-09, Indian rupee was depreciating against the US dollar, import cost was relatively cheaper, while of late, the rupee is hardening against the US dollar, implying the high cost of such imports entail this fiscal, if the rising trend in import of sensitive items is not reversed.
Milk and prodcuts
Interestingly, the single big spurt in sensitive import was from milk and milk products which went up by a huge 182 per cent at Rs 55.91 crore in 2008-09 from Rs 19.84 crore in 2007-08. Within this category, a whopping growth of 1,721 per cent was seen in import of milk cream and butter oil from a small level of Rs 2.16 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 39.33 crore in 2008-09.
Automobiles
While import of automobiles went up from Rs 1,303.09 crore to Rs 1,545.02 crore in 2007-08, import of automobiles parts and accessories of motor vehicles leapt up by 45.2 per cent from Rs 7,254.40 crore to Rs 10,533.57 crore in 2008-09.
Tea, coffee
Import of tea and coffee too jumped up from a level of Rs 137.30 crore to Rs 198.99 crore in 2008-09, marking a growth of 45 per cent and within this there was significant growth in the import of coffee Arabica plantation other grade and black tea, leaf in bulk from a level of Rs 66.90 crore to Rs 111.98 crore in 2008-09.
Import of alcoholic beverages went up from Rs 297.04 crore to Rs 372.77 crore, registering a growth of 25.5 per cent, while import of spices nosedived from Rs 677.18 crore to Rs 573.07crore in 2008-09, showing a fall of 15.4 per cent.
Import product of small-scale industries such as umbrella, toys, locks, tiles, writing instruments and glassware showed up a growth of 11.5 per cent from Rs 968.69 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1079.80 crore in 2008-09.
Rubber
While import of rubber went up from Rs 790.87 crore to Rs 936.54 crore in 2008-09, import of natural rubber (within the broad rubber category) in other forms such as technically specified natural rubber rose by 46 per cent from Rs 366.59 crore to Rs 535.10 crore in 2008-09.
Edible oil
In the edible oil segment, import has increased from Rs 10,942.54 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 15,873.60 crore in 2008-09. Imports of both crude edible oil as well as refined oil have gone up by 34.4 per cent and 120 per cent respectively. Spurt in edible oil import is ascribable to substantial increase in import of crude palm oil and its fractions.
Import of sensitive items from Indonesia, China, South Korea, Myanmar, Malaysia, Japan, the US, Germany, Brazil, Thailand, Cote divoire, Tanzania, Italy, Australia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Guinea Bissau went up, while those from Argentina and Canada have decreased.
Source : Business Line