Lok Sabha Question No. 2403 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-14
Subject: Import of Oil Seeds
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: DILIP PATEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2403 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 TH  DECEMBER, 2015

## IMPORT OF OIL SEEDS

## 2403. SHRI DILIP PATEL:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- a) the quantum and value of different varietis of GMO Oil seeds including white poppy, canola, sunflower and soya seeds imported into the country during each of the last three  years  and  relaxation  given  in  the  criteria  fixed  for  their  import,  country  and variety-wise;
- b) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  import  different  varieties  of  seeds  including canola  seeds  in  higher  quantity  during  the  current  year  and  if  so,  the  quantum  and value thereof;
- c) whether any relaxation has been given for import permission at the port of exit for seeds and any oil and if so, the details thereof; and
- d) whether  the  Government  has  any  agency/committee  to  examine  the  quality  of imported seeds and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

वाणिज् य एवं उद्योग राज् य मंत्री )णीमीी स मलमा नीीारमि((स्वींत्र प्रभार ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

(a) to (d):    Country-wise and variety-wise India's import of  all oil seeds for the last three years and current year (up to September, 2015) is at Annex.

Import of oil seeds is free; only seed quality is 'restricted'. Import of seed is subject to Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Rules there under for sanitary (bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection and labelling) purpose and Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003 for phytosanitary (pest & disease) purpose.

Import Policy of Genetically Modified Food, Feed, Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) and Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) is duly notified under ITC (HS) 2012, Schedule-1 (Import Policy). Import of  GM  food  requires  prior  approval  of  the  Genetic  Engineering  Approval  Committee  (GEAC) constituted under Rules, 1989. The above regulations provide for taking punitive action against the importers in case of wrong declaration or import without prior approval of the GEAC.

The Government of India is following a policy of case by case approval of genetically modified (GM) crops.   In  view  of  the  safety  concerns,  all  crops  are  tested  for  its  safety,  efficacy  and  agronomic benefits  in  accordance  with  the  prescribed  biosafety  guidelines  and  provisions  of   'Rules  for  the Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of  Hazardous Micro Organisms (HMOs) / Genetically Engineered  Organisms  (GMOs)  or  Cells,1989'  (Rules,  1989)  notified  under  the  Environment (Protection) Act,1986.  The environmental safety assessment includes studies on pollen escape outcrossing,  aggressiveness  and  weediness,  effect  of  the  gene  on  non-target  organisms,  presence  of protein in soil and its effect on soil micro-flora, confirmation of the absence of terminator gene and baseline susceptibility studies.  The food and feed safety studies include assessment on composition analysis,  allergenicity  and  toxicological  studies  and  feeding  studies  on  fish,  chicken,  cows  and buffaloes. In case, the transgenic crop is not found suitable for release in the environment or human consumption, the product is rejected during the trial stage itself.  Permission is granted on case by case basis following regulatory guidelines and procedures stipulated under Rules 1989. In addition, GM seeds also undergo obligatory and elaborate post-entry quarantine processing and molecular and quarantine testing for pest, pathogens & insects before initiating further research on it.

Further, vide Gazette Notification GSR 584 (E), 586 (E), 588(E) and 589(E) dated 1 st September, 2006, issued by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change , the seed inspectors, seed analyst and  laboratories  notified  under  the  Seed  Act,  1966  and  seed  Control  Order,  1983  have  been empowered under EPA, 1986.

## IMPORT OF OIL SEEDS

|          |                                    | 2012-13   | 2012-13   | 2013-14   | 2013-14   | 2014-15   | 2014-15   |
|----------|------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| ITCHS    | ITCHS DESC                         | QTY(TON)  | VAL       | QTY(TON)  | VAL       | QTY(TON)  | VAL       |
| 12011000 | SOYA BEANS W/N BROKEN OF SEED QLTY | 235.00    | 0.03      | 75.00     | 0.01      |           |           |
| 12019000 | OTHER SOYA BEANS                   | 837.40    | 0.62      | 440.31    | 0.46      | 6311.56   | 3.82      |
| 12022010 | SHELLED GROUNDNUTS KERNEL H.P.S    | 19.00     | 0.03      |           |           |           |           |
| 12022090 | SHELLED GROUNDNUTS KERNEL N.E.S    | 19.15     | 0.03      |           |           |           |           |
| 12024220 | KERNELS, OTHER                     |           |           |           |           | 20.00     | 0.02      |
| 12024290 | OTHER                              |           |           | 114.00    | 0.06      | 106.20    | 0.06      |
| 12040010 | LINSEEDW/N BROKEN OF SEED QLTY     |           |           |           |           | 110.38    | 0.07      |

## (VALUES IN MILLION USD)

| 12040090    | OTHER LINSEEDW/N BROKEN                         | 22.00    | 0.02   | 270.40    | 0.20   | 587.10   | 0.37   |
|-------------|-------------------------------------------------|----------|--------|-----------|--------|----------|--------|
| 12051000    | LOW ERVUCACID RAPE OR COLZA SEEDS               | 0.12     | 0.00   |           |        |          |        |
| 12059000    | OTHER RAPE/COLZA SEEDS W/N BROKEN               | 75.00    | 0.02   | 19.79     | 0.12   |          |        |
| 12060010    | SUNFLOWER SEEDS W/N BROKEN OF SEED QLTY         | 1258.00  | 0.69   | 1086.00   | 0.61   | 1238.00  | 0.65   |
| 12060090    | OTHER SUNFLOWER SEEDS W/N BROKEN                | 150.56   | 0.08   | 0.82      | 0.01   | 7.00     | 0.01   |
| 12074010    | SESAMUM SEEDW/N BROKEN OF SEED QLTY             | 2154.00  | 3.23   | 5743.41   | 9.64   | 12663.20 | 21.15  |
| 12074090    | OTHER SESAMUM SEEDS W/N BROKEN                  | 35896.45 | 51.41  | 67184.69  | 124.85 | 22104.59 | 41.52  |
| 12079100    | POPPY SEEDS W/N BROKEN                          | 13209.56 | 28.01  | 15110.00  | 51.06  | 12834.15 | 39.10  |
| 12079910    | AJAMS W/N BROKEN                                | 126.00   | 0.04   |           |        |          |        |
| 12079930    | NIGER SEED W/N BROKEN                           |          |        |           |        | 703.00   | 0.60   |
| 12079990    | OTHER OIL SEEDS AND OLEGINOUS FRUITS W/N BROKEN | 41551.76 | 18.66  | 52810.20  | 26.09  | 43305.79 | 21.67  |
| Grand Total |                                                 | 95554.00 | 102.85 | 142854.61 | 213.10 | 99990.96 | 129.05 |

NOTE:FIGURES FOR 2015-16(APR TO SEP) IS PROVISIONAL.

| COUNTRY-WISE IMPORT OF OIL SEEDS   | COUNTRY-WISE IMPORT OF OIL SEEDS   | COUNTRY-WISE IMPORT OF OIL SEEDS   |           |         | (VALUES IN MILLION USD)   | (VALUES IN MILLION USD)   | (VALUES IN MILLION USD)   | (VALUES IN MILLION USD)   |
|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|------------------------------------|-----------|---------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|
|                                    | 2012-13                            | 2012-13                            | 2013-14   | 2013-14 | 2014-15                   | 2014-15                   | 2015-16(APR               | 2015-16(APR               |
| COUNTRY                            | QTY(TON)                           | VAL                                | QTY(TON)  | VAL     | QTY(TON)                  | VAL                       | QTY(TON)                  | VAL                       |
| AFGHANISTAN                        | 51.250                             | 0.044                              |           |         |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| AUSTRALIA                          |                                    |                                    | 0.060     | 0.0004  | 0.115                     | 0.001                     |                           |                           |
| BANGLADESH PR                      | 75.000                             | 0.016                              |           |         |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| BENIN                              | 6528.756                           | 3.239                              | 7743.990  | 3.581   | 2133.000                  | 1.170                     |                           |                           |
| BURKINA FASO                       |                                    |                                    | 54.000    | 0.097   | 639.000                   | 0.366                     | 380.280                   | 0.486                     |
| CANADA                             |                                    |                                    | 4.548     | 0.006   | 30.000                    | 0.011                     | 68.000                    | 0.043                     |
| CHAD                               |                                    |                                    | 417.990   | 0.721   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| CHINA P RP                         | 663.000                            | 1.413                              | 578.432   | 1.677   | 1808.000                  | 6.004                     | 1739.000                  | 4.411                     |
| COSTA RICA                         | 950.000                            | 0.578                              | 1125.962  | 1.022   | 100.000                   | 0.080                     |                           |                           |
| COTE D' IVOIRE                     | 1116.240                           | 0.674                              | 700.250   | 0.500   | 182.000                   | 0.091                     |                           |                           |
| CZECH REPUBLIC                     | 65.000                             | 0.178                              | 174.000   | 0.693   | 152.000                   | 0.520                     | 51.000                    | 0.164                     |
| DJIBOUTI                           | 608.000                            | 0.963                              | 57.000    | 0.110   | 660.000                   | 0.385                     |                           |                           |
| EGYPT A RP                         | 127.000                            | 0.060                              | 216.000   | 0.380   | 48.000                    | 0.017                     |                           |                           |
| ETHIOPIA                           | 2452.000                           | 3.864                              | 1254.000  | 2.626   | 5884.556                  | 4.356                     | 8122.500                  | 5.327                     |
| FRANCE                             |                                    |                                    | 50.306    | 0.036   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| GERMANY                            | 19.500                             | 0.028                              | 57.217    | 0.104   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| GHANA                              | 20699.000                          | 9.448                              | 37452.000 | 19.035  | 28207.000                 | 15.693                    | 446.000                   | 0.355                     |
| GREECE                             | 48.000                             | 0.092                              |           |         | 19.000                    | 0.054                     |                           |                           |
| GUINEA BISSAU                      |                                    |                                    |           |         |                           |                           | 129.000                   | 0.156                     |
| IRAN                               | 764.250                            | 0.261                              | 564.350   | 0.187   | 372.000                   | 0.172                     | 131.000                   | 0.087                     |
| ISRAEL                             |                                    |                                    | 18.000    | 0.056   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| ITALY                              | 19.000                             | 0.028                              |           |         | 37.000                    | 0.104                     |                           |                           |
| JAPAN                              | 0.460                              | 0.001                              |           |         |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| KENYA                              |                                    |                                    | 33.000    | 0.064   | 24.000                    | 0.050                     |                           |                           |
| KOREA RP                           | 0.120                              | 0.000                              |           |         | 618.000                   | 1.579                     |                           |                           |
| MADAGASCAR                         |                                    |                                    | 11.000    | 0.011   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| MALAWI                             |                                    |                                    | 155.000   | 0.083   | 104.000                   | 0.060                     |                           |                           |
| MALAYSIA                           |                                    |                                    | 50.000    | 0.050   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| MALI                               |                                    |                                    |           |         |                           |                           | 190.000                   | 0.240                     |
| MOLDOVA                            |                                    |                                    |           |         | 745.000                   | 0.373                     | 1009.000                  | 0.477                     |
| MOZAMBIQUE                         | 200.000                            | 0.164                              | 91.000    | 0.116   | 398.000                   | 0.581                     |                           |                           |
| MYANMAR                            |                                    |                                    |           |         | 703.000                   | 0.599                     | 3443.000                  | 3.993                     |
| NEPAL                              | 37.000                             | 0.021                              | 227.000   | 0.146   | 783.680                   | 0.472                     | 73.500                    | 0.039                     |
| NETHERLAND                         |                                    |                                    |           |         | 20.160                    | 0.024                     |                           |                           |
| NEW ZEALAND                        |                                    |                                    | 19.725    | 0.119   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| NIGERIA                            | 7486.049                           | 10.881                             | 12698.520 | 22.877  | 3459.310                  | 4.470                     | 2111.900                  | 2.589                     |
| PAKISTAN IR                        | 3034.397                           | 4.145                              | 15835.762 | 31.580  | 1827.513                  | 2.574                     | 95.000                    | 0.123                     |
| RUSSIA                             |                                    |                                    |           |         | 20.000                    | 0.022                     |                           |                           |
| SENEGAL                            |                                    |                                    |           |         |                           |                           | 38.000                    | 0.044                     |
| SINGAPORE                          |                                    |                                    | 315.000   | 0.532   | 37.000                    | 0.109                     |                           |                           |
| SOMALIA                            | 7983.060                           | 9.949                              | 25745.530 | 43.860  | 20146.425                 | 35.846                    | 9449.829                  | 11.565                    |
| SRI LANKA DSR                      |                                    |                                    | 3.000     | 0.006   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| SUDAN                              | 23334.974                          | 22.886                             | 18669.180 | 30.022  | 18441.234                 | 18.434                    | 2186.280                  | 2.858                     |
| TAIWAN                             |                                    |                                    |           |         | 12.817                    | 0.049                     |                           |                           |
| TANZANIA REP                       | 1399.064                           | 0.765                              | 996.000   | 0.615   | 797.000                   | 1.478                     | 93.860                    | 0.178                     |
| THAILAND                           | 741.989                            | 0.956                              | 1026.000  | 0.373   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| TOGO                               | 1684.152                           | 2.615                              | 660.560   | 1.184   | 147.000                   | 0.320                     | 380.300                   | 0.481                     |
| TURKEY                             | 12481.559                          | 26.418                             | 14358.000 | 48.689  | 10881.149                 | 32.587                    | 7596.288                  | 22.711                    |
| U ARAB EMTS                        | 1866.150                           | 2.455                              | 1231.705  | 1.794   |                           |                           |                           |                           |
| U K                                | 19.030                             | 0.025                              | 0.018     | 0.000   |                           |                           | 0.050                     | 0.000                     |
| U S A                              | 758.000                            | 0.555                              | 0.500     | 0.000   | 126.000                   | 0.114                     | 304.000                   | 0.280                     |
| UGANDA                             | 235.000                            | 0.033                              | 131.000   | 0.109   |                           |                           |                           |                           |

| UKRAINE                                               |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       | 389.000   | 0.218   |           |        |
|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|-----------|---------|-----------|--------|
| UNSPECIFIED                                           | 107.000                                               | 0.096                                                 |                                                       |                                                       | 19.000    | 0.038   | 57.205    | 0.102  |
| UZBEKISTAN                                            |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       |                                                       | 20.000    | 0.023   |           |        |
| VIETNAM SOC REP                                       |                                                       |                                                       | 129.000                                               | 0.038                                                 |           |         |           |        |
| Grand Total                                           | 95554.000                                             | 102.851                                               | 142854.605                                            | 213.100                                               | 99990.959 | 129.045 | 38094.992 | 56.708 |
| NOTE: FIGURES FOR 2015-16(APR TO SEP) IS PROVISIONAL. | NOTE: FIGURES FOR 2015-16(APR TO SEP) IS PROVISIONAL. | NOTE: FIGURES FOR 2015-16(APR TO SEP) IS PROVISIONAL. | NOTE: FIGURES FOR 2015-16(APR TO SEP) IS PROVISIONAL. | NOTE: FIGURES FOR 2015-16(APR TO SEP) IS PROVISIONAL. |           |         |           |        |

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