7/2/07 (Business Standard India)  - Increase in imports of agricultural products like edible oil and foodgrain has led to a growth in imports of sensitive items by 11.7 per cent in April-December 2006 at Rs 12,959 crore, compared with Rs 14,472 crore in the same period of 2005. 
 
According to data released by the commerce ministry today, the gross import of all commodities during the period in 2006 stood at just under Rs 5,98,287 crore as against Rs 4,64,866 crore during the corresponding period last year. 
 
Imports of edible oil increased to Rs 7,558 (RM 599) crore (1 crore =10 million) in April-December 2006, as compared with Rs 6,753 (RM 535) crore in the corresponding period of 2005. 
 
This was mainly due to an increase in import of crude palm oil and its fractions in the first nine months (April-December) of 2006-07 by 44 per cent from the same period last fiscal. 
 
Significantly, import of crude oil has gone up by 20.5 per cent and that of refined oil has gone down by 44.9 per cent in the months between April and December of the current fiscal. 
 
Other sensitive items that witnessed increased imports include products of small scale industries, rubber and marble and granite, alcoholic beverages and milk products in the April to December period in 2006. 
 
In the same period, a reduction in imports of fruits and vegetables (including nuts), cotton and silk, spices and tea and coffee was also witnessed. 
 
Import of sensitive items from Indonesia, Argentina, Australia, the USA, China, Malaysia, Russia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cote D’ Ivory and Germany have gone up in the April- December period of 2006 while those from Brazil, Guinea Bissau, Egypt, Japan and Benin have shown a decrease.