Import of sensitive items goes up by 11%

New Delhi, Sep 11 (UNI) The total import of sensitive items for the period April-May 2006 registered a 10.6 per cent increase at Rs 2,792 crore as compared to Rs 2,524 crore during the corresponding period last year.

The gross import of all commodities during the same period of current year was Rs 1,16,523 crore as compared to Rs 91,595 crore during the same period last year.

Imports of spices, tea and coffee and alcoholic beverages have shown a decline at broad group level during the period. Imports of edible oil, fruits and vegetables (including nuts), cotton and silk, products of SSI, rubber, automobiles, marble and granite, and milk and milk products have shown increase during the period under reference.

In the edible oil segment, the imports have increased from Rs 1,244 crore last year to Rs 1,590 crore for the corresponding period of this year.

A significant feature of edible oil import is that import of crude oil has gone up by 41.6 per cent and that of refined oil have gone down by 46.7 per cent. The growth in edible oil import is mainly due to significant increase in import Soyabean Oil and its fractions, which has gone up by 103 per cent and Crude Palm Oil and its fractions which has gone up by 14 per cent.

Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, Argentina, US, China, Sri Lanka, Germany, Japan, Australia, Afghanistan have gone up while those from Malaysia, Brazil, Egypt, Vietnam have shown a decrease.

UNI DKS CS RAI1916