Sensitive Items Imports Up 24.7% in April-May.

India's imports of sensitive items, including pulses and edible oil, went up by 24.7% to Rs 12,532 crore in April-May this year from Rs 10,051 crore in the year-ago period.

The country's pulses imports soared by 38.6% to Rs 1,196.38 crore during the period under review from Rs 862.94 crore in April-May, 2010, a Commerce Ministry official said.

India is a net importer of pulses.

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

Imports of edible oils rose by 38.7% to Rs 5,255.66 crore in April-May, 2011, from Rs 3,789.66 crore in the corresponding year-ago period. India is the world's largest importer of edible oil and one of the largest consumers.

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

During the first two months of the current fiscal, the import of items such as alcoholic beverages and spices also increased by 60.4% and 30.5%, respectively.

Imports of products of small-scale industries such as umbrellas, locks, toys and glassware went up by 46.2% to Rs 292.8 crore during the period under review in comparison to the year-ago period.

Automobile imports jumped by 112.7% in April-May, 2011, to Rs 656.68 crore from Rs 308.78 crore in April-May, 2010.

However, imports of foodgrains, fruits and vegetables, tea and coffee contracted by 81.3%, 1.9% and 42.6%, respectively, in the April-May period.

Milk and dairy product imports, too, declined by 70.3% to Rs 61 crore in the review period from 205.52 crore in April-May, 2010.

The official did not disclose the reason behind the contraction.

Imports of sensitive items accounted for 4% of the country's total imports during the period.

Gross imports of all commodities in April-May, 2011, stood at Rs 3,29,376.66 crore, an increase of 31.93% from Rs 2,49,652.61 crore in April-May, 2010.

Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Germany, Ukraine, Argentina, Canada, Japan, Thailand, UK, Australia, Egypt and Italy went up during the period under review, while inward shipments from the US,
Korea, Myanmar went down.

Source : moneycontrol.com