Import duty on edible oils will help farmers: Union minister Chouhan

Vidisha (MP): Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday said the government's decision to impose 20 per cent import duty on edible oils will help domestic farmers who will get better prices for their oilseed crops.

With cess, the import duty will be 27.5 percent, he told reporters here.

"To ensure that farmers get due price for their produce, we have taken a big decision, especially for soybean oil. Till now we were importing edible oils as per our need, because of lack of production in the country. There was zero per cent import duty on edible oils, which resulted in cheaper oil coming to the country and fall of soybean prices," said Singh.

"Now we have decided that soybean or any other edible oil will attract an import duty of 20 percent, and with additional cess, it will be around 27.5 per cent," Chouhan told reporters.

The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister was visiting his Vidisha constituency to take part in the Ganesh festival.

The import duty on refined oils too has been increased, Chouhan noted.

Besides, the government also decided to decrease the export duty on onion from 40 per cent to 20 per cent and abolished 9.5 per cent export duty on Basmati rice in the interest of the farmers, he added.

"Because of these steps, farmers will get the right price for soybean, cotton and onion," Chouhan said.

He also informed that his ministry has given its nod to the Madhya Pradesh government's proposal to purchase soybean at the Minimum Support Price.

Later in the evening, Chouhan and his family members also took part in the Ganesh idol immersion ceremony in state capital Bhopal.