NEW DELHI: The government has allowed bulk export of rice bran oil without any restriction on pack size, a move likely to help paddy growers and rice millers. “Export of rice bran oil in bulk (irrespective of any pack size) has been exempted from the prohibition on export of edible oils,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification today.
At present, the export of edible oils is allowed in branded consumer packs of upto 5 kg with a minimum export price of USD 900 per tonne. Although India is a major importer of edible oils, the Centre has allowed bulk exports of rice bran oil to help small rice millers realise better price as demand of this cooking oil remains limited in the domestic market .
India’s vegetable oil (comprising edible and non-edible oils) imports touched a record 14.61 million tonnes in 2014-15 oil year (November-October). In the first six months of the 2015-16 oil year, the import of vegetable oils rose by 17 per cent to 75,57,169 tonnes as compared to 64,66,902 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year. The country meets more than 50 per cent of its cooking oil demand through imports. India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and a small quantity of crude soft oils, including soyabean oil from Latin America. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.
