02/08/2012 (Reuters) - India has set a new base import price on RBD palmolein at $1,053 per tonne, a government statement said on Wednesday, making imports of the refined palm oil costlier as it seeks to protect domestic refiners from cheap Indonesian imports.

India, the world's top vegetable oil buyer, imposes a 7.5 percent import duty on RBD palmolein and last month abandoned a base import price of $484 per tonne which had been in force for the last six years. [ID: nL4E8IJ4DI]

RBD palmolein prices are currently around $1,020 per tonne delivered into Mumbai.

Indonesia, the world's top palm oil producer, tweaked its tax structure last year to promote refined products, hurting domestic industries in major buyers such as India.

Exports of palm oil from Indonesia, the world's biggest grower of the edible oil, are likely to drop after top consumer India effectively doubled import taxes on refined products, in a move that could also push rival Malaysia to overhaul taxes.