Imports of sensitive items up 44.7% in April-Dec 2011.

New Delhi: Imports of sensitive items, including fruit and vegetables and edible oils, went up by 44.7 percent to Rs 75,948 crore in April-December, 2011.

Imports of sensitive items stood at Rs 52,492 crore in the year-ago period.

Fruit and vegetables imports soared to Rs 7,406 crore during the period from Rs 3,833.8 crore in April-December, 2010, a Commerce Ministry statement said.

Items such as foodgrain, 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 67.6 percent to Rs 34,854 crore in April-December 2011, from Rs 20,791.50 crore in the 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 substantial increase in imports of crude palm oil and its fractions," it said.

During the first nine months of the current fiscal, the import of items such as alcoholic beverages and spices also increased by 55 percent and 70.3 percent, respectively.

Imports of products of small scale industries such as umbrellas, locks, toys and glassware went up by 44 percent to Rs 1,623 crore, compared to the year-ago period.

Automobile imports jumped by 71 percent year-on-year in April-December 2011 to Rs 2,838.8 crore.

However, imports of food grain and milk and its products contracted by 93.6 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively.

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

Source : zeenews.india.com