India to double Bangladeshi rice bran oil import

India's import of rice bran oil from Bangladesh is set to double in the current financial year 2020-21, said BV Mehta, executive director of Solvent Extractors' Association of India.

Import of rice bran oil from Bangladesh have already hit 60,000 tonnes during April-October this year compared to total 75,000 tonnes during 2019-20, Mehta added.

"With the peak season of rice bran processing starting post-Diwali (November 14) as it is the harvest season for paddy, we expect that total imports of rice bran oil during 2020-21 fiscal would go up to 1.5 lakh tonnes," Mehta was quoted in Pune city by The Economic Times today.

Unlike palm oil, which was earlier being re-routed into India via Bangladesh to avail a duty advantage, rice bran oil originates in Bangladesh and its import is covered by the South Asian Free Trade Agreement.

Rice bran oil is one of the fastest-growing among edible oils and its import is increasing over the past four years, Mehta said.

India produces about one million tonnes of rice bran oil.