Import of sensitive items up nearly 45 per cent in April-December FY’12

Import of sensitive items into the country rose 44.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs75,948 crore during the first nine months of the current financial year (April-December 2011-12) against Rs52,492 crore during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

The country's overall imports during April-December 2011-12 stood at Rs16,51,240 crore against Rs12,28,075 crore during the same period last year.

Import of sensitive items thus showed an increase of 4.6 per cent during the first nine months of the current fiscal against an increase of 4.3 per cent in the comparable period of the previous year.

Imports of milk and milk products and food grains have declined at the broad group level during the period. Imports of all other items, viz, edible oil, automobiles, fruits and vegetables (including nuts), pulses, rubber, products of SSI, cotton, silk, spices, alcoholic beverages, marble and granite and tea and coffee have increased during the period.

Edible oil imports increased by 67.64 per cent to Rs34,854.3 crore during April-December 2011-12 from Rs20,791.5 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal.

Imports of both crude oil as well as refined oil have gone up by 68.1 per cent and 64.4 per cent, respectively. Import of crude palm oil and its fractions accounted for a major part of the increase in edible oil imports.

Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Argentina, Germany, South Korea, Ukraine, United States, Canada, Myanmar, Japan, Thailand, United Kingdom, Cote D'Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, Benin and Vietnam have gone up while those from Brazil, Australia etc have shown a decline during the period.