Import duty on refined edible oil is go up from 7.5 per cent to ten per cent to protect domestic industry and farmers. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA, today gave its nod to the hike. Food Minister K V Thomas told this to reporters in New Delhi this evening. The move is expected to fetch 600 crore rupees revenue to the government.

Earlier, the edible oil industry had demanded increasing import duty on refined edible oil to 30 per cent.

Currently, the import duty on crude edible oil is 2.5 per cent, while on refined edible oil is 7.5 per cent. Since the duty difference is only 5 per cent between the two varieties, traders have resorted to higher import of refined oils, affecting the domestic refiners and farmers.

India produces 9 million tons of edible oil, while the consumption is around 20 million tonne. The rest is met through imports. In the 2012-13 fiscal, the country had imported 61,273 crore rupees worth of edible oils.