NEW DELHI, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- India's edible oil imports witnessed a surgeagain in January, after a slowdown in December last year, proving wrongall predictions that imports would come down following good oilseeds crop.

Imports in January this year touched 385,000 tonnes, up by 91 percent over200,000 tonnes in December and 33 percent against 290,000 tonnes inJanuary last year, said a report in the financial daily, the EconomicTimes, quoting the edible oil portal, oilmandi.com.

Inspite of the market getting plentiful supplies of edible oil fromdomestic sources, edible oil refineries imported edible crude oils heavilyto replenish the stocks, the the report said, quoting market sources.

Lured by concessions in sales tax in all the coastal states and fullexemption from excise duty in the western Indian State of Gujarat, about adozen edible oil companies have set up greenfield refineries, whichtogether created an additional capacity of about 8,500 tonnes per day(TPD) in the last couple of years, the report said.

Since all of them are primarily into refining crude palm oils (CPO),higher demand by the refineries has predictably led to a spurt in itsimport in the month.

On rise in demand, its imports in January almost doubled to 176,000 tonnesfrom about 82,000 tonnes in December last year, the report said quotingthe portal.

With this, overall imports in the month too increased by the sameproportion of 50 percent made up of CPO.

Moreover, reduction in the price of CPO, originating from Malaysia, hasalso come as a shot in the arm to willing importers.

On a higher production of CPO in December last year in Malaysia, itsprices in the world market declined by US$20 per tonne to US$500 per tonnein the month.

This has induced India edible oil companies to take advantage of thesituation, the report said.

-- BERNAMA