New Delhi, Jan 9 (IANS): The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Thursday cleared a food ministry proposal to raise the import duty on refined edible oil from the current 7.5 percent to 10 to help domestic refiners.

Solvent extractors have been seeking a hike in import duty on refined oils to at least 12.5 percent, arguing that the duty differential with crude vegetable oils is not large enough to discourage cheaper inflows of refined oils from overseas.

India, the world's largest edible oil buyer, imposed a 2.5 percent import duty on crude vegetable oils last year. However, since major exporters such as Indonesia and Malaysia offer duty incentives on supplies of refined edible oils to promote their local refiners, Indian buyers have cut down on buying of crude edible oils and are increasingly opting for refined oils.

India produces 9 million tonnes of edible oil, while the consumption is around 20 million tonnes. The rest is met through imports.

In the 2012-13 fiscal, the country imported Rs.61,273 crore worth of edible oils.

The decision is expected to fetch Rs.600 crore revenue to the government.