MUMBAI/NEW DELHI, Jan 23 (Reuters) – China has suspended imports of oilmeal from India after it found contamination of a hazardous chemical in rapeseed meal last year, an Indian trade body said, potentially hitting India’s overall exports of the animal feedstock.

“For the time being, China has suspended imports of oilmeals from India,” B.V. Mehta, executive director at the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), told Reuters on Monday.

The restrictions, which took effect on Jan. 1, are also likely to hit India’s total oilmeal exports, the association said.

China buys about 500,000 tonnes of oilmeal from India annually, with rapeseed accounting for more than 70 percent of the total, Mehta said.

China said in June last year that it had found traces of malachite green, a hazardous chemical, in shipments from India and Malaysia.

“This is a very serious development which will affect the exports of oilmeals badly since China is a big market for India,” the association said in a statement.

Indian exporters investigated the contamination issue and found the origin to be a green dye used for marking jute bags, the association said.

NEW DELHI, Jan 16 (Reuters) – India may soon consider easing curbs on the sugar sector, the chief of a top trade body said on Monday, after lobbying the finance minister on lifting controls that many say force the country into a damaging cycle of boom and shortages.

New Delhi, keen to ensure cheap availability of the sweetener and to keep prices in check, currently sets the price mills must pay to farmers and buys 10 percent of their output, called levy sugar, at a big discount for its welfare schemes.

The government also decides how much sugar will be sold in the open market and at times imposes limits on stocks that large buyers can hold — all measures which some industry players say lead to a cycle of boom and scarcity.

“We had a fruitful discussion with FM,” Gautam Goel, president of Indian Sugar Mills Association, said referring to his meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Sugar mills in India, the world’s top consumer and the biggest producer behind Brazil, have repeatedly asked the government to lift restrictions, saying yo-yoing output forces the country to import and export every two-three years.

But sugar pricing remains highly political and with a slew of elections scheduled this year, lifting controls now could be unviable for the government and its allies.

The government has been deferring a decision on this for decades, viewing sugar as a ready source of food energy for its half a billion poor and a way to woo cane farmers — a major vote bank in key producing states like Uttar Pradesh, which goes to the polls next month.

NEW DELHI, Jan 13 (Reuters) – India imported 669,912 tonnes of vegetable oils in December, down 21.7 percent from the previous month, deterred by ample local oilseeds supply and a weak rupee, trade data showed on Friday.

Palm oil imports — the bulk of India’s edible oil purchases – fell 25.5 percent December to 552,327 tonnes. Soyoil imports did not rise as expected by traders, falling 7.7 percent to 7,387 tonnes over November.

A Reuters survey had forecast average imports of vegetable oils at 700,625 tonnes in December.

“Soyoil was replaced by a higher imports of sunflower oil,” said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, a top trade body which released the data.

He said the imported sunflower oil remained about $16 per tonne cheaper than soyoil in December.

India, the world’s No. 1 importer of cooking oils, buys mainly palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia and a small quantity of soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.

Traders said a weaker value of the Indian currency also made imports costlier. The rupee shed 24 percent of its value against the dollar last year. It fell about 3 percent in December.

NEW DELHI, Jan 12 (Reuters) – India’s palm oil imports are likely to decline in December over the previous month as domestic oilseeds crushing peaked, but the fall is expected to reverse next month as local supplies run out, a Reuters survey showed on Thursday.

The other reasons for the fall are a weak rupee that has made imports costlier and a tendency of palm oil to solidify at lower temperatures. It is winter in India now.

Higher imports by India, the world’s top buyer of vegetable oils, in January could push the benchmark palm oil futures that inched up on Wednesday as prospects of lower edible oil output in South America and southeast Asia.

Palm oil imports — the bulk of India’s edible oil purchases – fell 23.1 percent December to 569,625 tonnes, according to the survey of eight traders. Only soyoil buying is seen up 254.7 percent to 28,375 tonnes over November.

Costlier soyoil is often a temporary replacement for palm oil and is widely used during this traditional wedding season with feasts consisting of various fried foods.

India mainly buys palm oils from Indonesia and Malaysia, and small quantities of soyoil from Argentina and Brazil. About half of India’s 15-16 million tonnes of edible oils demand is sourced through imports.

The survey suggested total vegetable oil imports, including non-edible oils, would fall 18.1 percent in December to 700,625 tonnes from the previous month.

NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (Reuters) – India’s iron ore exports are likely to be 75 percent lower than previously expected in the quarter ending in March as a rise in export duties kicks in as part of the government’s push to conserve supplies for domestic steelmakers.

Asia’s third-largest economy announced a 50 percent jump in export duties on Monday to 30 percent, prompting traders to slash their forecasts for exports for the year to March 2012 to around 50 million tonnes from 65 million. That was already down from 97 million tonnes last year.

Given that India had exported about 45 million tonnes in the nine months to December, it is likely to ship only another 5 million tonnes in the three months to March 31, top industry body, Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, said on Tuesday.

India is one of the world’s biggest exporters of iron ore, with much of it bought by China, which has the world’s largest steel industry. The shortage is expected to push up global prices by 7 to 10 percent over the current $140 a tonne, traders said.

“We are shocked at the decision to hike export tax on iron ore as such volatility in policy does not promote India’s image as a reliable supplier,” said Glen Kalavampara, secretary of the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters’ Association. Goa is India’s biggest exporter of iron ore.

“Absence of supplies from India will help Australian and Brazilian suppliers to consolidate their domination of the global market.”

Indian exports were already down around a third from last year primarily due to legal wrangling over stalled shipments from a key producing state and efforts to conserve supplies.

NEW DELHI, Jan 2 (Reuters) – India raised iron ore export duties to 30 percent from 20 as it seeks to conserve supplies for its own steel industry, sending down shares of iron ore producers and boosting those of steelmakers.

The government issued a formal order removing the previous 20 percent duty, and two revenue officials said this meant the rate reverted to 30 percent, which one of them said was the “peak tariff” level.

“The new rate is 30 percent on both fines and lumps,” said R.K. Sharma, secretary-general of the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries. The rates were effective Dec. 30, he said.

“This move appears to have been taken to appease the country’s steel lobby, which has been demanding such a hike,” Sharma said.

India is one of the world’s biggest exporters of iron ore, with much of its product bought by China, which has the world’s largest steel industry.

Exports from Asia’s third-largest economy have fallen sharply due to increases in taxes and freight rates, while shipments from Karnataka state, one of the country’s biggest producers, have stalled over a legal wrangle.

Sesa Goa, a major ore seller, said in November that India’s exports had already probably fallen by a third in 2011 to 65-70 million tonnes.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The cabinet put off approving a multi-billion dollar bill to expand a populist food subsidy scheme on Tuesday, the latest sign of the coalition government’s policy dithering as the economy flounders and it faces strident opposition.

The government has had to backtrack on tougher economic reforms such as opening up India’s supermarkets to foreign firms because of political opposition.

But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress party had been expected to win easy approval for the food bill from cabinet, given its political benefits ahead of a key state election next year and a national vote in 2014.

“Discussions on the bill are inconclusive,” Food Minister K.V. Thomas said after the meeting. He said the bill could be taken up by cabinet next week.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has already criticised the bill, saying it would strain government finances and would require a major boost to farm output and potentially curtail exports.

A senior government official said there were differences among ministers over the size of the plan, given the move could double the food subsidy bill from the present $12 billion at a time when the economy is slowing sharply.

Growth slowed to its lowest rate for more than two years in July to September. The rupee is the worst performing currency in Asia so far this year, the current account deficit has soared and the stock market has lost some 22 percent since January.

NEW DELHI, Dec 13 (Reuters) – India’s cabinet put off approving a multi-billion dollar bill to expand a populist food subsidy scheme on Tuesday, the latest sign of the coalition government’s policy dithering as the economy flounders and it faces strident opposition.

The government has had to backtrack on tougher economic reforms such as opening up India’s supermarkets to foreign firms because of political opposition.

But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Congress party had been expected to win easy approval for the food bill from cabinet, given its political benefits ahead of a key state election next year and a national vote in 2014.

“Discussions on the bill are inconclusive,” Food Minister K.V. Thomas said after the meeting. He said the bill could be taken up by cabinet next week.

Farm Minister Sharad Pawar has already criticised the bill, saying it would strain government finances and would require a major boost to farm output and potentially curtail exports.

A senior government official said there were differences among ministers over the size of the plan, given the move could double the food subsidy bill from the present $12 billion at a time when the economy is slowing sharply.

Growth slowed to its lowest rate for more than two years in July to September. The rupee is the worst performing currency in Asia so far this year, the current account deficit has soared and the stock market has lost some 22 percent since January.

NEW DELHI, Dec 12 (Reuters) – India’s crude palm oil imports are likely to have risen and refined to have fallen in November as the unrefined variant remained cheaper depite Indonesia’s attempt to promote sale of refined oils, a Reuters survey showed on Monday.

Total palm oil imports could have risen 12.5 percent in November 696,250 tonnes from October, the average of forecasts in a survey of eight traders showed, while soyoil imports are likely to have fallen 83.4 percent to 31,000 tonnes.

Indonesia, the world’s top palm oil producer, altered taxes on exports to make refined palm oils more attractive than crude palm oil (CPO) from October, prompting warnings from refiners in India, the world’s top cooking oil buyer, that they would be dealt a “death blow.”

But the expected higher imports of refined palm oil by India haven’t materialised as supplies remain tight: demand from the European Union, the Middle East and Asia, as well as an inability to boost refining capacities quickly, has kept prices of Indonesia’s refined palm oils high, despite the tax cut.

In November, the spread between refined and crude oils even widened to around $75 a tonne, up $12 from October.

In Mumbai on Monday, imported refined, bleached and deodorised (RBD) palmolein was quoted around $1,110 per tonne while the delivered price of CPO stood at about $980 per tonne, traders said.

“A wider spread between refined and crude palm oils led to higher imports of the crude variant in November, while the domestic soybean harvest season trimmed overseas soyoil purchases,” said Pradip Desai, a Mumbai-based trader.

Dec 9 (Reuters) – India’s state-owned refiner BPCL aims to import 43 percent more crude in 2012/13, spurred partly by expanding local demand which is prompting other refiners to invest to boost capacity over the next five years, officials said on Friday.

India’s annual consumption of refined products will rise by nearly 26 percent to 186.80 million tonnes by March 2017, compared with an estimated 148.28 million tonnes in the current fiscal year ending March 31, official figures show.

Refining capacity expansion will outpace that, however, with a rise of about 61 percent expected to 310.9 million tonnes a year or 6.22 million barrels per day (bpd) by March 2017.

Its current refining capacity stands at 193.4 million tonnes a year or 3.87 million bpd.

India, the world’s fourth-largest oil importer, ships in 80 percent of its own oil needs to meet growing local fuel demand.

It has surplus refining capacity but still imports fuel as private firms, controlling over a third of current capacity, prefer to export given the unattractive domestic market where diesel and kerosene are heavily subsidised.

BPCL aims to import 20 million tonnes of crude oil in the next financial year from April against about 14 million tonnes in the current fiscal year, its chairman R. K. Singh told reporters on Friday.