Government said on Tuesday it may consider increasing the import duty on edible oil further to check cheap import if the situation so demands. “Only recently we hiked the import duties on edible oil. Its impact on the market is being assessed and if necessary we may think of increasing the duties further, Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar told reporters in New Delhi.
Import of edible oil, he said, had registered an increase in the recent past only due to ‘psychological reasons’ and the situation was not as bad as it was sought to be portrayed. Kumar claimed that production had increased and availability of oil in the domestic market was more than the requirement and said import of palm and palmolein oils had been more than that of soyabean oil.
The minister said an expert committee has been constituted to examine the entire gamut of issues relating to genetically modified oil and its impact on consumers. The committee, he said, included representatives from ministries of health, environment, bio-technology, food besides agriculture and Indian Council of Agricultural Research. Earlier, launching Sohna supreme Basmati rice of Punjab Markfed, Kumar said the Centre has decided to set up a committee for a comprehensive market assessment to guide the farmers on crop diversification.
It would help provide information about demand in local, regional, national and international markets to farmers and also advise them on what to produce and when, he said. Bureau Report