KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 25 (Bernama) -- Sandeep Bajoria, the past president ofthe Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), wants New Delhi toimpose fairer duties on all edible oils. Currently, soya oil is slappedwith an import duty of 45 percent while crude palm oil attracts a duty of65 percent in India.

"We in the association are not happy with the 45 percent (import) dutyimposed on soya oil. We want it to go up," he said in an interview withBernama recently.

The association, he said, had brought up the issue with the Indiangovernment many times.

SEA's position is that the import duty for all edible oils should be thesame.

"Probably 65 percent duty for all oils is more fair. The minister here(Primary Industries Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik) also agreed thatMalaysia does not mind if it is equal," he said.

So far, Sandeep said Malaysia had done a good job in persuading the Indiangovernment to reduce duty on CPO to 65 percent from 75 percent previously.

"I must congratulate Dr Lim and the Malaysian Palm Oil Promotion Council(MPOPC) because their sincere efforts had prompted the Indian governmentto reduce the duty," he said.

Sandeep explained that the current duty ratio was due to an earlieragreement by India with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Indianand Malaysian authorities then did not see the consequences of adifference in import duty.

As far as the characteristics of soya oil and CPO were concerned, he saidboth types of oils were good.

"We can't say this is better or that is better. It depends on how it ismanufactured and delivered to the consumer," he stressed.

Sandeep felt that the current 65 percent duty on CPO and palm olein wouldcontinue to have a positive impact on Malaysian producers as India'simport of palm oil and palm products would increase in the future.

By the end of 2002, India would have imported roughly about 300,000 tonnesmore of edible oils than what it was taking in the current year, he said.

As of October 2001, Sandeep said India imported 5.1 million tonnes of oilsand fats with palm oil and soya bean oil accounting for almost 60 percentof the imports.

He said palm oil was still the major oil imported by India and almost 50percent of that came from Malaysia.

Dr Lim announced recently that India had imported about 1.8 million tonnesof CPO as at October 2001 and this was expected to touch 2.0 milliontonnes by end of this year. -- BERNAMA