09/12/2015 (Hindu Business Line) - The oil palm developers in the country have welcomed the move to increase the import duty of crude palm oil by another 5 per cent to take it to 17.5 per cent. They, however, have asked the Government to consider revising the import duty to 45 per cent to safeguard the interest of palm growing farmers in the country.

The oil palm developers association pointed out that the CACP (Commission for Agricultural Cost and Prices) has pegged crude palm oil price at $800 a tonne as the price of oil at which the Indian farmer makes a decent return. “In order to meet the minimum remunerative price to farmers (as indicated by the CACP guidelines), the import duty on crude palm oil needs to be close to 45 per cent,” it said.

“Besides protecting the interest of farmers, it would help the industry in the long term. It would also help us make the country self-sufficient in the edible oil sector,” the Oil Palm Developers and Processors Association (OPDPA) has said.

“Of the $10 billion worth vegetable oil import bill, palm oil and its derivatives comprise about 80 per cent. Palm oil prices are commodity based and is dictated by the large oil palm producers in Malaysia and Indonesia. Falling global prices have cut into the margins of the farmers and processors, making it difficult for the industry to remain viable” Sanjay Goenka, President of OPDPA, has said, responding to the Government decision to increase the duty.

He called for an exclusive Import Policy to oversee the oil palm sector, keeping in view the interests of the farmers and processing industry that could save valuable foreign exchange by developing robust domestic supplies.