India is going to scrap a duty-free import quota of 2 million tonnes of crude sunflower oil for the next fiscal starting from April 1, as the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils is trying to help and support local oilseed farmers.
The move could lead to higher imports of palm oil, which earlier attracted taxes even as imports of sunflower oil and soy oil were allowed without any taxes under the quota.
In May 2022, India allowed duty-free imports of 2 million tonnes of sunflower oil in 2022/23 and had initially planned to repeat that in 2023/24. India sources sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine. But now in January, India categorically decided to scrap duty-free imports of crude soy oil for the new fiscal year.
India imports soy oil mainly from Argentina, Brazil and the United States and crude palm oil imports would become attractive from April onwards. India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.