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Import of sensitive items in the first 8 months of the current financial year have declined, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, said here today while releasing the data for April-November 2004. The total import of sensitive items for the period April-November 2004 has been Rs.12,462 crore as compared to Rs.12,520 crore during the corresponding period of last year thereby showing a negative growth of 0.5%. The gross import of all commodity during same period of current year was Rs.2,92,566 crore as compared to Rs.2,20,924 crore during the same period of last year. Thus, import of sensitive items constitute only 5.7% and 4.3% of the gross imports during last year and current year respectively. The major item that has contributed significantly to the decline in imports is crude palm oil and its fractions, the Minister said.
Imports of edible oil, cotton & silk, spices and milk & milk products have shown a decline at broad group level during the period. Imports of fruits & vegetables, rubber, automobiles, marble & granite, tea & coffee, alcoholic beverages, small scale industries (SSI) and other products have shown increase during the period under reference.
In the edible oil section, the imports has decreased from Rs.8,385 crore last year to Rs.7,415 crore for the corresponding period of this year. A significant feature of edible oil import is that import of crude oil has gone down by 37%, and that of refined palm oil & palmolein gone up by 87%. The drastic downfall in edible oil import is mainly due to huge shortfall in import of crude palm oil, which has gone down by 51%.
Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, Brazil, China P RP, Cote D’ Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Tanzania Rep, Benin, Japan and Sri Lanka etc. have gone up while those from Argentina, Malaysia, USA, Thailand etc. have shown a decrease.
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