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Vanaspati wants change to FTA
New Delhi, March 7: The Vanaspati industry has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make suitable amendments in the free trade agreements (FTAs) with Nepal and Sri Lanka. The industry says that FTAs with these two countries have adversely affected the vanaspati segment. In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, Vanaspati Manufacturers' Association of India (VMA) executive secretary S. Gurumoorthi pointed out the flaws in the 'rules of origin' clause in the FTAs and sought necessary modifications or place vanaspati in the negative list of imports under the arrangements with the two countries in question. The VMA memorandum said, "The rules of origin in India-Sri Lanka FTA and India-Nepal Treaty of Trade do not prescribe any compulsory minimum use of indigenous raw materials." As a result real value addition for exports from either Nepal or Sri Lanka is not being done. The rules of origin is being deliberately misused to the advantage of exporters in these two countries. The exporting units based in Nepal and Sri Lanka import the raw material, crude palm oil (CPO) at cheaper rates and by simple process of hydrogenation, they convert it to vanaspati for exports. "This is a mockery of the stipulated rules of origin," the memorandum said. |
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