New Delhi: Led by edible oils, import of sensitive items shot up 39.9% to Rs48,274 crore in the April-September period of this fiscal, reports PTI.
India’s imports of sensitive items stood at Rs34,516 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% to Rs21,852.77 crore in April-September 2011, from Rs13,367.32 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% to Rs5,075.71 crore, from Rs2,736.79 crore in April-September 2010.
Food inflation stood at 10.60% for the week ending 8th October 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% more expensive year-on-year during the week ended 8th October. Fruits grew dearer by 12.39% 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% and 66.5%, respectively.
Imports of products of small-scale industries such as umbrellas, locks, toys and glassware too went up by 46.3% to Rs1,058.31 crore, compared to the year-ago period.
Automobile imports jumped by 92% in April- September, to Rs1,926.46 crore from Rs1,003.62 crore in the same period last year.
However, imports of foodgrain, milk and milk products and pulses contracted by 94.3%, 22.1%, and 0.8%, respectively. India is a net importer of pulses.
Milk and dairy product imports declined to Rs354.74 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% of the country’s total imports during the period.
Gross imports of all commodities in April-September 2011, stood at Rs10,55,339 crore from Rs8,11,773 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.
Source : moneylife.in