Edible oil imports up 22pc to Rs 1.61 lakh cr in 2024-25 mkt yr; volume flat: SEA

India imported 16 million tonnes of edible oils for nearly Rs 1.61 lakh crore during the 2024-25 marketing year ended October to meet domestic demand, according to industry body SEA.

In the 2023-24 marketing year (November-October), India's edible oil imports stood at 15.96 million tonnes worth Rs 1.32 lakh crore, as per the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) data released on Thursday.

The increase in edible oil imports in value terms was 22 per cent because of higher global prices.

India imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia while the soyabean oil comes from Argentina and Brazil.

"To bridge the gap between supply and demand, India has resorted to imports since 1990s. In the initial period, the import volume was very low. However, in the last 20 years (2004-05 to 2024-25), import volume has increased by 2.2 times while cost of import has gone up nearly 15 times," the association said.

In 2024-25, India had to spend nearly Rs 1.61 lakh crore (USD 18.3 billion) in 2024-25 for import of 160 lakh tonnes (16 million tonnes) of edible oils, it added.

In volume terms, the imports of edible oils stood at 16.47 million tonnes in 2022-23, 14.03 million tonnes in 2021-22 and 13.13 million tonnes in 2020-21 marketing year.

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