India's Trade Policy in respect of Edible Vegetable Oils

1. Agricultural Trade Policy Division,
Dept of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare,
Government of India

2.  India is a net exporter of agricultural produce.
 India’s share in global agri-exports increased
from 0.8 per cent in 1990 to 2.3 per cent in 2016.
 India’s total agricultural trade during 2017-18 was
Rs. 4,02,333 crores.
 Exports - Rs. 2.50 lakh crores during 2017-18
(12.5 % of India’s total exports).
 Imports - Rs. 1.52 lakh crores during 2017-18
(5.1% of India’s total imports).

3. India’s major items of agricultural exports during 2017-18
are (in Rs crores):
 Rice (Basmati and Non-Basmati) – 49,768
 Buffalo Meat – 25,988
 Spices – 20,013
 Cotton (Raw) – 12,155
 Sugar – 5,228
 Fresh Vegetables – 4,997
 Coffee – 6,245
 Ground Nuts – 3,384
 Oil Meals – 6,968
 Cashew Nuts – 5,945
 Castor Oil – 6,730

4. Sl No Major items 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
2017-
18
1 Rice -Basmati 19409 29292 27587 22719 21513 26841
2 Buffalo Meat 17409 26458 29283 26684 26161 25988
3 Rice(other than Basmati) 14449 17795 20442 15483 16930 22927
4 Spices 15177 15146 14848 16630 19111 20013
5 Castor Oil 4310 4364 4710 4616 4522 6730
6 Coffee 4711 4799 4973 5125 5646 6245
7 Cashew 4067 5095 5566 5028 5279 5945
8 Cotton 20277 22338 11643 12821 10907 12155
9 Sugar 8576 7179 5329 9825 8660 5228
10 Oil Meals 16520 17070 8129 3600 5410 6968
227193 262779 239471 215396 227554 250272
India's total agri & allied
export
Source: DoC

5. Based on 2016-17 data

6. India’s major items of agricultural imports during 2017-18 are
(in Rs crores):
 Vegetable oils - 74,996
 Pulses - 18,748
 Fresh fruits – 12,525
 Cashew nut – 9,134
 Wheat – 2,358
 Sugar – 6,036 (India is a net exporter)
 Cotton raw – 6,306 (India is a net exporter)
 Spices – 6,378 (India is a net exporter)

7. (Value: in Rs Crore)
Sl No Major items 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
1 Vegetable Oils 61271 56836 64890 68677 73039 74996
2 Pulses 13345 12793 17063 25619 28523 18748
3 Fresh Fruits 6180 7716 9567 11072 11291 12525
4 Cashew 5434 4668 6600 8701 9027 9134
5 Cotton 2467 2376 3102 2566 6339 6306
6 Sugar 3094 2287 3668 4038 6869 6036
7 Spices 2716 3452 4393 5400 5760 6378
8 Wheat 6 27 61 873 8509 2358
9 Coffee 796 729 930 802 927 997
10 Fruits/Vegetable Seeds 471 449 612 703 653 764
95719 85727 121238 140311 164681 152061
India's total agri & allied
import
Source: DoC

8. Vegetable oils
47%
Pulses
19%
Fresh fruits
7%
Cashew nut
6%
Wheat
6%
Sugar
4%
Cotton raw
4%
Spices
4%
Misc processed
items
1%
Cocoa products
1%
Oil Meals
1%

9. Sl No Top Items Top 3 Import Sources
1 Vegetable Oils 1. Indonesia (39%) 2. Argentina (21%) 3. Malaysia (18%)
2 Pulses 1. Canada (27%) 2. Australia (22%) 3. Myanmar (19%)
3 Fresh Fruits 1. USA (39%) 2. Afganistan (10%) 3. China (9%)
4 Cashewnut
1. Coted D'ivoire (24%) 2. Tanzania (12%) 3. Guinea
Bissau (16%)
5 Sugar 1. Brazil (99.4%) 2. USA (0.02%) 3. France (0.01%)
6 Cotton 1. USA (31%) 2. Australia (30%) 3. Mali (6%)
7 Wheat 1. Ukrain (48%) 2. Australia (41%) 3. Bulgaria (5%)
8 Spices
1. Vietnam (15%) 2. Afghanistan (12%) 3. Indonesia
(11%)
9 Coffee 1. Vietnam (59%) 2. Indonesia (15%) 3. Uganda (15%)
10
Fruits/Vegetable
Seeds
1. Thailand (21%) 2. Egypt (13%) 3. Chile (12%)

10.  Average Bound duty for agriculture products 113 %
and average applied duty is 32.7 %.
 India has a high degree of flexibility in import tariff on
Agriculture items (FTA limitations exist).
 Major policy interventions are: Import Tariff, MEP,
MIP, QR, Packaging restrictions
 PP&Q restrictions also exist.

11. Source: DGFT & DoR
Important Items Current Applied Duty
Wheat 20% (w.e.f. 08th Nov, 2017)
Pulses Tur: 10 (w.e.f. 28th March, 2017)-(QRs of 2 Lakh/annum is
imposed on its import on 05.08.2017)
Peas: 50% (w.e.f. 08th Nov, 2017)-QRs of 1 lakh is in force
w.e.f. 25.04.2018 upto 30th June, 2018.
Lentil: 30% (w.e.f. 21st Dec, 2017)
Chana: 60% (w.e.f. 01st March, 2018)
Moong/Urad: 0% (QRs of 3 lakh MT/annum is imposed on
their import on 21.08.2017)
Oilseeds 30% except soyabean-45%
Edible Oil
Fruits/Vegetables 30% except apple-50% and plum/grapefuits-25%.
Pomegranates fresh/Lichi-15%
Items Crude Refined
Palm Oil 44% 54%
Sunflower/Mustard/Rapeseed Oil 25% 35%
Remaining edible oil 30% 35%

12.  India is heavily dependent on imports to meet its
edible oil requirements.
 Total edible oil consumption in India is estimated to
be 235.5 lakh tonnes in 2016-17, out of which 140.1
lakh tonnes (60%) is imported.
 Of imported edible oils during 2016-17, share of palm
oil is about 60% (83 lakh tonnes) followed by
soyabean oil with a share of 25% (35 lakh tonnes) and
sunflower oil with a share of 12% (17 lakh tonnes).

13.  India is the largest imported of Edible Vegetable
Oils in the world followed by China & USA.
 India’s share of world edible vegetable oil import is
about 15%.
 Import growth in respect of Edible oils during the
last decade is about 174%.

14. Quantity: In Lakh Tonnes
Source: D/o Food & Public Distribution

15. Source
Domestic
Availability
Import Total
% share of
edible oil
% share of
Import in
respective edible
oil
(A) Primary Sources (Qty in Lakh MTs)
Soybean 13.8 43.2 56.9 23.7 76.0
Rapeseed/Mustard 21.2 3.8 25.0 10.4 15.2
Groundnut 15.4 0.0 15.4 6.4 0.0
Sunflower 1.1 15.5 16.6 6.9 93.4
Sesame 2.7 0.0 2.7 1.1 0
Castor 5.8 0.0 5.8 2.4 0
Linseed 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.1 0
Niger Seed 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.1 0
Safflower Seed 0.2 0.0 0.2 0.1 0
(B) Secondary sources (Qty in lakh MTs)
Palm oil 2.0 86.0 88.0 36.6 97.7
Cotton seed Oil 10.1 0.0 10.1 4.2 0
Rice bran 9.9 0.0 9.9 4.1 0
Coconut 4.3 0.0 4.3 18.0 0
Solvent Extracted oil 3.5 0.0 3.5 1.5 0
Tree & Forest origin 1.5 0.0 1.5 0.6 0
Total (A=B) 91.9 148.5 240.4 100 61.7
Source: Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetables oils, and Fats

16.  Nine Oilseeds are the major source of vegetable oil in the
country and contributes more than 70% of domestic
availability of vegetable oils.
 In addition to oilseeds crops, India has secondary sources of
edible oils like rice bran, cotton seeds, coconut, palm oil
and tree borne oilseeds that contribute about 30% of total
domestic availability of vegetable oils.
 Amongst the nine major oilseeds soybean (39%),
Groundnut (24%) and Rapeseed/Mustard (24%) contribute
to 87% of total oilseeds production in the country.
 In terms of vegetable oil production, Mustard, Soyabean
and Groundnut contribute 31%, 26% and 25% respectively.

17. Major
Oilseeds
Soyabe
an
Rapeseed
&
Mustard
Groundn
ut
Sunflow
er
Castor
Sesamu
m
Safflow
er
Linseed Niger
Total
Oilsee
ds
2006-07 885.1 743.8 486.4 122.8 76.2 61.8 24.0 16.8 12.1 2428.9
2007-08 1096.8 583.4 918.3 146.3 105.4 75.7 22.5 16.3 11.0 2975.5
2008-09 990.5 720.1 716.8 115.8 117.1 64.0 18.9 16.9 11.7 2771.9
2009-10 996.4 660.8 542.8 85.1 100.9 58.8 17.9 15.4 10.0 2488.2
2010-11 1273.6 817.9 826.5 65.1 135.0 89.3 15.0 14.7 10.8 3247.9
2011-12 1221.4 660.4 696.4 51.7 229.5 81.0 14.5 15.2 9.8 2979.9
2012-13 1466.6 802.9 469.5 54.4 196.4 68.5 10.9 14.9 10.2 3094.3
2013-14 1186.1 787.7 971.4 50.4 172.7 71.5 11.3 14.1 9.8 3274.9
2014-15 1037.4 628.2 740.2 43.4 187.0 82.8 9.0 15.5 7.6 2751.1
2015-16 857.0 679.7 673.3 29.6 175.2 85.0 5.3 12.5 7.4 2525.1
2016-
17* 1379.4 797.7 756.5 24.1 142.1 78.4 7.8 15.4 8.3 3209.7
Quantity: In lakh Tonnes
Source: DES, DAC&FW * As per 4th Adv Est.

18. Quantity: Lakh Tonnes
Source: DGCIS, Kolkata, D/o Commerce

19. Items
Trade Policy
Current Applied
Duty Bound
Duty
Export Import Crude Refined
Oilseeds Free Free
30% (except
soyabean-45%)
100%
Soybean Oil Free Free 30% 35% 45%
Groundnut Oil Free Free 30% 35% 300%
Palm Oil Free Free* 44% 54% 300%
Sunflower Oil Free Fee 25% 35% 300%
Mustard/rapeseed Oil Prohibited Free 25% 35% 75%
Coconut Oil Free STE** 30% 35% 300%
Olive oil, cotton seed oil,
safflower seed oil, saffola oil,
coconut oil, plam kernel/
Babassu oil, linseed oil , maize
corn oil, castor oil, sesame oil,
other fixed veg fats and oils
Free Free 30% 35% 100/300%
Source: DGFT & DoR, * Import not permitted through any port Kerala. ** Import through STE

20.  Refined Palm oil was allowed for import with 65%
custom duty since 1994. It has been observed that
during the year 1994-2000 where there is downward
trend of custom duty from 65% to 28.6%-the CAGR for
Area & Production was -0.84% & 0.60% respectively.
 From 2000-2008, when custom duty has been increased
(high duty regime), the CACR for area and production
of oilseeds was 2.30% and 7.1% respectively.
 During 2008-14 where there is again downward trend of
custom duty (low duty regime), the CAGR for area and
production of oilseeds have been recorded at 0.35% and
3.39% respectively.

21.  From consumer centric to farmer centric
 Taking care of ‘Make in India’
 Long term interests of India’s Agricultural Trade
 Better coordination with various Departments &
Organizations
 Regular monitoring mechanism – monitoring
mechanisms strengthened, participation in IMC
meetings of Consumer Affairs, Food.
 New mechanisms are being put in place – this
committee meeting is part of this measure.

22.  Measures to control Edible Oil imports (almost 50% of our agri-
imports) & Pulses (1/5th of our agri-imports)
 Major revision of Agricultural Trade Policy in respect of Pulses:
Import duties increased to protect farmers, QRs placed, export
restrictions removed on 22nd November, 2017.
 Major revision of Import Duties in respect of Edible Oils:
Biggest import tariff hike during the last decade. For ex: Crude
Palm Oil duty raised from 7.5% to 15% (in August, 2017) to 30%
(in November, 2017) and 44% in 1st March, 2018.
 Import duty on Soyabean seeds hiked (from 30% to 45%)
 Imports of Pulses reduced by 1 million MT, Import of Refined
Oils declined, Coconut oil prices appreciated, the sharp decline
in Groundnut & Mustard oil prices were arrested to a large extent
as a result of these policies, giving relief to our small & marginal
farmers.

23.  Monthly meetings for monitoring Agricultural Trade with
participation of related Divisions in DAC&FW, other
Depts., & Bodies.
 Strengthening Institutional mechanisms to support faster,
scientific and farmer centric Agricultural Trade Policy
 Unveiling long term Agricultural Trade Policy
 Collaborations & Agreements with foreign countries so as
to improve our agri-exports
 Creating/supporting think tanks in Agricultural Trade Policy
 Ensuring doubling of farmers incomes through appropriate
Trade Policies.