02/03/2012 (The Economic Times), New Delhi - With surge in import of refined palm oil, edible oil processors have urged finance minister Pranab Mukherjee to hike import duty on the commodity to 16.5 per cent from the existing 7.5 per cent to save the domestic industry from closing down.

India imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and soyabean oil from Brazil and Argentina. The country imports about 50 per cent of the domestic demand. There is zero duty on crude edible oils and 7.5 per cent on refined edible oils.