Indian Vegetable Oil Producers’ Association (IVPA) welcomes the decision of the government to reduce the basic import duty on crude edible oil only from 20% to 10% while leaving the net refined oil duties unchanged at 35.25 percent. We thank the government for accepting the IVPA recommendation to increase the duty differential between crude and refined edible oil to 19.25%. It is a significantly bold move towards ensuring Make in India and also protecting the sector from influx of refined oils causing capacity injury to the vegetable oil sector. This move will not just strengthen the domestic refining capacities of Indian refiners but also ensure fair price to oilseed farmers and a fair price to the consumers. The persistent efforts of the IVPA to bring to the notice of the government the trade distortions from surge in edible oil imports under SAFTA have resulted in this historic and bold move.
According to IVPA data, imports of refined palm oil surged from 4.58 lakh MT during June–September 2024 to 8.24 lakh MT (representing about 30 % of total palm oil imports) in the period October 2024–February 2025. Additionally under Safta provisions of zero duty, refined oils have been glutting the Indian markets due to the huge refined oil duty advantage neighbouring countries enjoyed .
