Mumbai , Oct. 2 - EDIBLE oil imports into the country were an estimated6.26 lakh tonnes (lt) in September as per preliminary data made availableto Business Line by the industry portal oilmandi.com.

Arrivals last month comprised mainly 2.44 lt of crude palm oil; 98,200tonnes of crude palmolein; 64,000 tonnes of refined palmolein and 1.99 ltof degummed soyabean oil. Others included 7,000 tonnes of crudesunflowerseed oil and 13,000 tonnes of crude palm kernel oil. WithSeptember estimate available, imports during the first 11 months of theoil year 2003-04 (November-October) aggregated 37 lt, down at least 10 ltfrom 47 lt imported during the same period last year.

October arrivals are projected at about 4.5 lt, which would take theannual import to about 42 lt, broadly in line with trade expectation, downfrom 51 lt of last year.

The decline in imports is largely because of considerably improveddomestic availability during the year.

Edible oil imports during the new oil year beginning November are,however, likely to be higher than for the previous year.

Kharif season oilseed crop conditions are not really favourable. A declineof 20-25 lt of oilseeds over the previous year is expected raise edibleoil import requirement to over 50 lt next year.

Reports of Indian importers having booked more than 5 lt of crude palm oilfrom Indonesia and Malaysia are doing the rounds of the market, whilelarge parcels of refined soyabean oil have also been contracted forimport, it is said.

The first estimate of soyabean output released by the Indore-basedSoyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has placed production at arecord 73.1 lt to be harvested from 74.5 lakh hectares with a yield of 981kg/ha as compared with last year's 69.3 lt from 64.5 lakh ha with a yieldof 1,074 kg/ha. (see table)

Madhya Pradesh with 42 lt and Maharashtra with a bumper crop of 23 ltaccounted for the record size of output, the SOPA pointed out.

According to SOPA, the yield has been affected by a long dry spell duringJuly-August, especially at the flowering and podding stage of the crop.