Sensitive items import jumps 39% in Feb-Apr

Import of diary products soared a whopping 275.5 per cent to Rs 2.85 billion (Rs 285 crore) and that of food grains by 211 per cent to Rs 920 million (Rs 92 crore) in April-February of the past fiscal.

During the year-ago period, import of milk and other diary items stood at Rs 758.6 million (Rs 75.86 crore), while that of food grains at Rs 29.57 crore.

During the period under review, imports of items like edible oils and tea and coffee also surged by 65.3 per cent to Rs 240.25 billion (Rs 24,025.63 crore) and by 39.4 per cent to Rs 2.56 billion (Rs 256.05 crore), respectively, an official data released said.

India, which is a net importer of pulses, bought the commodity worth Rs 96.68 billion (Rs 9,667.86 crore) during the period, an increase of 62.9 per cent over the identical period last year.

The government allows duty free import of edible oils and pulses to control prices. Import of these items, considered sensitive for domestic producers, went up by 38.8 per cent to Rs 5999.81 billion (Rs 59,981.11 crore) during April-February 2009-10 from Rs 432.08 billion (Rs 43,208.84 crore) in the same period a year-ago.

However, imports of automobiles and alcoholic beverages contracted by 27.5 per cent (Rs 1,035.11 crore) and 10.5 per cent (Rs 327.68 crore), respectively during the period under review. Imports of items like toys, umbrella and locks manufactured in small scale industries too posted dip.

Edible oils, milk, dairy products, coffee and tea among other items fall into the sensitive category and their imports are monitored by the government to see if there is any adverse impact on the domestic industry.

As per the data, the increase in imports of fruits and vegetables was 5.2 per cent to Rs 45 billion (Rs 4,499.86 crore).

Food inflation rose to 16.44 per cent for the week ended May 1, mainly due to high prices of fruits and vegetables. Import of sensitive items amounted to 5.1 per cent of the country's total imports during the period against 3.2 per cent in the previous year.

Total imports during the period were valued at Rs 11801.24 billion (Rs 11,80,124 crore).

Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, China, Brazil, Myanmar, Malaysia, South Korea, the US, Japan, Thailand, Australia and some other countries have gone up while those from Germany and Tanzania declined.