Imports of sensitive items in India up during April-February 2011

Imports of sensitive items into the country rose 9.3 per cent during the first 11 months of the previous fiscal (April-February 2010-11) to Rs65,596 crore from Rs60,011 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, official data showed.

Sensitive items accounted for 4.9 per cent of the country's gross import of all commodities during the period, at Rs13,92,178 crore. Import of sensitive items during the previous year period was lower at 4.7 per cent of the gross import of Rs12,28,944 crore.

Imports of edible oils, automobiles, fruits and vegetables (including nuts), rubber, products of SSIs, milk and milk products, alcoholic beverages, marble and granite and foodgrains have increased during the period while imports of pulses, cotton and silk, spices and tea and coffee have declined at broad group.

Edible oil imports have increased to Rs27,314 crore during April-February 2010-11 from Rs24,016 crore in the previous year period. Import of crude edible oil has gone up by 16.6 per cent while that of refined oil has come down by 1.5 per cent during the period.

Crude palm oil and its fractions accounted for a major portion of the increase in edible oil imports during the period.

Imports of sensitive items from countries such as Indonesia, China, Argentina, Malaysia, South Korea, US, Germany, Ukraine, Thailand, Australia, Tanzania, UK, Cote D' Ivoire, Vietnam, etc have gone up while those from Myanmar, Brazil, Japan, Canada, Czech Republic etc have gone down.