New Delhi, September 08: Imports of milk and milk products saw a huge jump of 316.2 per cent and that of refined edible oil 168.2 per cent in April-June, pushing the inbound shipment of sensitive items up by over 40 per cent during the period.
Edible oil, milk and milk products fall in the sensitive items category and their imports are monitored by the government to ensure they are not causing any adverse impact on domestic firms, particularly small and medium.
However, imports of certain other sensitive items like automobiles, alcoholic beverages and products of small scale industries (SSI) like umbrella, locks and toys dipped during the first quarter of this fiscal, according to official data.
The overall import of these items went up by 40.6 per cent to Rs 13,509 crore from Rs 9,608 crore in the same period last year.
The import of refined edible oil, and milk and its products was at Rs 858.88 crore and Rs 51.26 crore in April-June, respectively, against Rs 320.21 crore and Rs 12.32 crore in the same period of the previous year.
Imports of tea and coffee in the period went up to Rs 49.25 crore from Rs 28.77 crore in the same period last year.
India’s overall merchandise (finished products) imports during the first three months of this fiscal, however, declined by 25.7 per cent to Rs 2,48,171 crore from Rs 3,34,191 crore.
–Agencies