Consider the following statements:
- 1.The quantity of imported edible oils is more than the domestic production of edible oils in the last five years.
- 2.The Government does not impose any customs duty on all the imported edible oils as a special case.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) 1 only
India has for years imported more edible oil than it produces, meeting well over half of its needs from abroad, mainly palm and soybean oil. Imports are far from duty-free: the Budget of February 2018 raised customs duty on crude edible vegetable oils from 12.5 to 30 per cent.
- ✓ 1. In the years before 2018 imports supplied roughly 60 per cent of domestic edible-oil consumption, so the quantity imported exceeded domestic output; the government's oil-palm mission itself cites the heavy import burden.
- ✗ 2. Customs duty is levied and adjusted from time to time to protect oilseed farmers; the 2018-19 Budget raised it to 30 per cent on crude and 35 per cent on refined edible vegetable oils.
Remember · India is among the world's largest importers of edible oil (mainly palm and soybean); it imports more than it produces, and uses customs duty to balance farmers' and consumers' interests.
Sources
- Budget Speech 2018-19, Annex (customs duty changes: crude edible vegetable oils 12.5% to 30%), Ministry of Finance ↗ “Edible oils of vegetable origin 1 1508, 1509, 1510,1512, Crude edible vegetable oils like Ground nut oil, Olive oil, Cotton seed oil, Safflower seed oil, 12.5% 30%”
- National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare ↗ “Considering the growing domestic demand for edible oils, the staggering deficiency and the cost to the exchequer on account of imports, the urgency of scaling up the oil palm area is of National interest”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·