With QRs gone, imports of tea, coffee, spices go up

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 21. Though there has been an overall decline in imports of 300 specified items being monitored after the lifting of quantitative restrictions (QRs), a micro level analysis by the Union Commerce Ministry has revealed that imports of tea, coffee, spices, cotton, silk and marble and granite have gone up during April and May this year.

The imports of the specified 300 tariff lines are closely monitored by the `War Room' in the Commerce Ministry since there were apprehensions that there could be a surge in inflow with the lifting of QRs in April. Data released by the Commerce Ministry now show that the overall imports of these specified items were estimated to be Rs. 1,411 crores in the first two months of the current fiscal against Rs. 1,589 crores in the same months of last year. This translates into a 11 per cent fall in imports.

Country-wise analysis reveals that increased imports have taken place from countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Tanzania and Vietnam. But imports of these sensitive items from China have registered a decline of 28 per cent whereas imports of dry fruits from Pakistan have gone up from Rs. 1.67 crores to Rs. 3.38 crores.

Going by the overall trend, the Ministry has termed the situation as one of `normal trading activity' in response to demand and supply factors. The Ministry has also added that these figures may undergo some revision after validation of commodity codes because of the inadvertent possibility of some items being misclassified by the importers.

Data released by the Ministry show that imports of milk and milk products declined from a level of Rs. 13.55 crores during April- May 2000 to Rs. 3.43 crores in the same months of the current year. Similarly, fruits and vegetables are down from Rs. 179 crores to Rs 93.93 crores this year while tea and coffee have gone up from Rs. 2.72 crores last year to Rs. 5.93 crores this year. Spices are up from Rs. 27.34 crores last year to Rs. 51.43 crores this time while foodgrains imports are down from Rs. 74 lakhs to Rs. 34 lakhs this year.

Edible oil imports are also down from Rs. 944.45 crores to Rs. 791.10 crores while alcoholic beverages were down from Rs. 4.07 crores to Rs. 2.94 crores this year. Rubber imports were down from Rs. 3.05 crores to Rs. 3.03 crores while cotton and silk went up from Rs. 359.46 crores to Rs. 415.72 crores this April and May. Marble and granite imports increased from Rs. 1.19 crores to Rs. 1.28 crores while automobiles were down from Rs. 19.75 crores to Rs. 18.65 crores.

Products of concern to small scale industries such as umbrella, locks, toys, writing instruments, tiles and glassware were marginally down with imports being worth Rs. 21.88 crores last year and Rs. 21.80 crores this April and May. Other imports were sharply down from Rs. 11.63 crores last April and May to Rs. 1.50 crores in the first two months of the current fiscal.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Business
Previous : IMD, VRS expenses eat into SBI's profit
Next     : Stanchart offers line of credit for salaried class