Massive upsurge of 69 per cent in crude palm oil imports lifted total imports of sensitive items in April-July 2003 by 39 per cent to Rs 5,879 crore (Rs 58.79 billion).
Imports of refined palm oil and palmolein however showed a moderate rise of 11 per cent even as soyabean crude oil, crude oil and sunflower crude oil also increased, according to an official release.
The gross import of commodities during the same period was Rs 1,06,440 crore (Rs 1,064.40 billion) as compared to Rs 86,802 crore (Rs 868.02 billion) last fiscal.
The import of 300 sensitive items constituted only 4.9 per cent and 5.5 per cent of the gross import during last year and current year respectively.
Imports of sensitive items from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina, US, Egypt, Thailand, Mali, Greece, Guinea Bisu and Afghanistan have gone up while those from China, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Switzerland and Australia have declined.