Epoxidized Soybean Oil

Soybean oil is the derivative of soybean. On crushing mature beans, 18% oil and 78-80% meal is obtained. While the oil is mainly used for human consumption, meal serves as the main source of protein in animal feeds. India is the World's largest importer of edible oils in the World. Of the total 5.0-5.5 million tons of vegetable oils imported, 1.3-1.5 million tons is soybean oil, imported mostly form Argentina, and followed by Brazil and US. In addition to imports, domestic production of around 0.7-0.8 million tons takes the annual soybean oil consumption of the country to 2.0-2.2 million tons, with a market value of Rs 8000 crore.
Crude and Refined soybean oils are permitted to be imported into India at an import duty of 45% and 50.4% respectively. Imports of soybean oil into India have been on a continuous rise since the past 6-7 years. It has witnessed a sharp rise from a mere 84,000 tons during 1996-97 to 1.54 million tons during 2001-02.