The proposed
India-EU free trade agreement may open doors
for easy import of olive oil from Europe. Spain,
Italy, and Greece are insisting upon India to
reduce its duty, remove non-tariff barriers
and other local taxes and levies and marketing
restrictions like maximum retail price system
that guarantee a 35% margin to the retailer.
At present, the effective duty
on olive oil is about 50%, which includes a
basic duty of 45%. The Bureau of Indian Standards
has also laid down quality norms for olive oil.
The Malaysian minister of international
trade and industry, Dato' Seri Rafidah Aziz,
who was here last November, had also asked India
to reduce its applied tariffs on different grades
of palm oils, before the signing of the comprehensive
economic cooperation agreement.
The prime minister of Greece,
Kostas Karamanlis, who led an official delegation
to India last week, had elaborate discussions
with the government on the issue of boosting
bilateral trade to 1 billion euro by 2010, and
also future prospects of the proposed India-EU
free trade agreement. Among other items of export
interest, Karanmalis also mentioned olive oil.
The Indian commerce minister,
Kamal Nath said, "We are negotiating with
EU for both trade and investment. It will be
the largest trade agreement in the world."
According to official sources,
the government may consider easy entry of imported
olive oil on the grounds of its nutritive value,
also to augment availability of vegetable oils
with a view to keep price inflation under check.
Greece is the third major olive
oil producer, producing more than 3,00,000 tonne
annually, out of which 70% is extra virgin olive
oil. Karamanlis also mentioned other farm items
like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, wine,
which Greece wants to export to India. He said
feta cheese, masicha from Chios island, ouzo
are products of protected designation of origin
under geographical indications.
The total size of the olive
oil market in India is around 4 million euro
in terms of value and 2,000 tonne in terms of
volume.Spanish companies command a share of
about 60%.
According to Jose Antonio Bretones,
the economic and commercial counselor in the
Spanish Embassy said that Spanish companies
have set aside a budget of 30,000 euro for generic
activities and another 1,50,000 euros for concrete
marketing plans in India. Spain is the world's
largest exporter of olive oil.
Source: http://www.financialexpress.com
|
