7/12/06 NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - India's 2006-2007 (November-October) palm oil imports should be sharply higher than the previous year, boosted by an expected duty cut, Dorab Mistry, a leading palm oil analyst, said on Thursday.

"Imports are definitely going to be sharply higher, we are expecting a duty cut as the government has put imports of vegetable oil under critical watch," Mistry, director of London-based Godrej International Ltd., told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in the resort island of Bali.

India has extended a 10 percent cut in customs duty on palm oil by two months from Oct. 31 to Dec. 31 to curb inflationary pressures.

In August, India cut import duties on crude palm oil and palmolein to 70 percent from 80 percent, while those on RBD palm oil and palm olein were reduced to 80 percent from 90 percent to check a rise in prices of essential items.

India consumes about 11 million tonnes of edible oil a year.

Palm oil constitutes 40 percent of India's total annual edible oil imports of more than 5 million tonnes and a surge in international prices poses a risk to inflation.