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 in all the imported edible oils as a special case.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

Official UPSC Civil Services Exam 2018 Prelims Part A

Answer 1

The correct answer is 1 only.

India occupies a prominent position in the world oilseeds industry with a contribution of around 10% in worldwide production.
But the demand for edible oils (extracted from oilseeds in addition to palm oil) is significantly higher than the domestic production, leading to dependence on imports (60% of requirement). Hence, statement 1 is correct.
The government imposes customs duty on edible oils to safeguard the interests of the domestic oil crushing industry.
The duty on two major edible oils, namely crude sunflower seed oil and crude canola/rapeseed/mustard is 25 percent, while crude soybean oil attracts 30 percent duty. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.