SOPA Seeks to Repeal the Exemption From Customs Duty on Edible Oils

The Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has urged the Union government to phase out the exemption from customs duty on edible oils gradually. According to the industry body, this will help to stabilize falling soybean prices in the domestic market.

SOPA Chairman Davish Jain stated in a letter to Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal that various policy initiatives taken by the Union government in the recent past, including the lowering of customs duty on edible oils, have resulted in a 15% to 26% decline in both imported and domestic edible oils in the last month.

"However, fall in edible oil prices has also contributed to substantial decline in soybean prices in the domestic market. The fall in soybean prices has sent a very negative signal to soybean farmers, at a peak sowing time for Kharif Oilseeds. If the current fall in soybean prices continued further, it may result in shifting some area of soybean to other crops and this will stop the momentum built over the last two years for growing more oilseeds," said Jain.

SOPA has requested that the government review the current edible oil duty structure and announce a gradual increase in customs duty on edible oils. "Not only will this benefit farmers and consumers, but it will also provide additional revenue to the government," he said.