Andhra farmers demand reversal of crude palm oil duty reduction

The Andhra Pradesh Rythu Sangham has demanded that India’s central government reverse its decision to reduce the import duty on crude palm oil from 16.5% to 11%. The organisation’s district president, Katta Bhaskara Rao, and secretary, K. Srinivas, made the demand at a media briefing in Eluru on Wednesday.

They said the move would harm oil palm and other oilseed growers in Andhra Pradesh and across the country. The leaders said the government had previously reduced the duty from 27% to 16.5% and had now lowered it further to 11%. They argued that the change could destabilise domestic edible-oil production and undermine efforts to make India self-reliant in the sector.

According to the Sangham, farmers growing oil palm, groundnut and sesame in Andhra Pradesh would be particularly affected. The organisation said lower import duties could place further pressure on the prices received by domestic oilseed growers and threaten their livelihoods. The farmers’ group cited the reduction of import duty on cotton as an earlier example of a policy it said had harmed growers.

It did not provide figures showing the effect of that earlier measure, but said the palm oil decision could produce similar pressure. The Sangham called for measures to guarantee a price of ₹25,000 a tonne for oil palm bunches. It said such support was needed to protect cultivation and sustain farmers’ incomes.

The organisation warned that it would mobilise oil palm farmers and begin protests if the duty reduction was not withdrawn. The source material did not include a response from the central government or details of any planned policy review.