India should raise the import duty on refined vegetable oils to 27.5% from 20% to stem the tide of cheaper overseas purchases. Higher import duty on vegetable oils could make oilseeds planting attractive for local farmers and help millers improve capacity utilization, according to the data of the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA).
India, which consumes 18-19 million tons of edible oil annually, imported a record 14.61 million tons vegetables oil in the marketing year to October 2015, as a drop in local oilseed output prompted refiners to boost imports from top producers Malaysia and Indonesia.