India eases export restrictions on organic edible oil, rice bran oil

Himanshu Vatsa | The Dollar Business

The government has removed quantitative cap on the export of organic edible oil and overseas shipment of rice bran oil in bulk, giving a major boost to small rice millers across the country. “Export of rice bran oil in bulk has been exempted from the prohibition on export of edible oils. Also, the quantity ceiling on export of organic edible oils has been removed,” the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a fresh notification. The move is expected to trigger a hike in the price of rice bran in the market and help small rice millers to get better bargain on the product. However, traders engaged in the agricultural product business do not see any major impact on India’s export. “Since India is the net importer of rice bran oil, opening up of its bulk export will not have much impact on the international trade. The government should also allow the export of sesame oil, which has better potential in the global market,” T S Ahluwalia, Director of Dharammvir Exports Pvt. Ltd, told The Dollar Business. Experts say that a mixture of sesame oil and rice bran oil also makes a healthy product with great medicinal value. And Indian exporters can cash in on the growing demand of such a blend of edible oil in the international market. According to estimates, India imports around 10 million tonnes of edible oil every year, which constitutes nearly 60% of the country’s consumption. But, rice bran oil has very limited demand in the domestic market. The government has restricted the export of edible oil. However, there is no export restriction on castor oil and on the shipment of coconut oil to Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan. Outbound shipment of edible oils is permitted in branded packs of up to 5 kg each with a minimum export price of $900 per tonne.

 August 07, 2015 | 3:15pm IST.