‘All imported edible oils should come under WTO duty ceiling’

Baren Bhattacharya

Kolkata, Oct 14: The members of the All India Oils & Seeds Trade Association are not happy with the Government move to allow soyabean seeds and oils the advantage of duty ceiling norms according to the terms of the World Trade Organisation.

In a memorandum submitted recently to the Union Finance Secretary (revenue), the president of the Association, Mr R Mansingka, urged the ministry that like soya seed and oil, all other imported edible oils, namely palm group of oils, should be brought under the duty ceiling limit also as fixed by the WTO.

He said that the refined soya oil from the USA is getting the advantage of WTO bound duty of 45 per cent but about 85 per cent import duty is levied on refined palm oil from Malaysia.

Apart from the advantage in duty ceiling, the US government also provides soya farmers with subsidy on its production volume and not on prices.

The twin facilities have helped the US multinationals, engaged in soya products trade, the advantage of fixing their prices at a lower rate to dominate the international market, Mr Mansingka observed,
“The interests of thousands of soyabean farmers in India are being severely affected as the subsidised soya oils from the US are flooding the domestic markets,” said the general secretary of the Association, Mr Harack Shah.

Mr Mansingka said “I have raised the same issue in the recently concluded 72th Congress of International Association of Seed Crushers held in Sydney. As an alternative proposal, the AIOSTA memorandum suggested that if the other oils can not be brought under WTO bound rate, the government should put quantitative restriction on imports of soyabean products by allowing only 0.25-0.50 million tonne at bound rate and rest at higher rate. According to available statistics, India imported 3.50 lakh tonnes of soya oil in August, 2001.

Mr Mansingka also urged the Union finance ministry to take stringent measures to stop the smuggling of vanaspati from Nepal. He said that malpractices like under-invoicing and misdeclarations on imported palm oils from Nepal through Kolkata ports should be stopped.