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In a representation made to the minister, Sopa has pointed out that as per the National Institute of Nutrition, the edible oil requirement of India with a population of 1,300 million comes up to 16.607 million tonne. As against this, the total oil availability in 2015 was 21.60 million tonne including 14.42 million tonne of imported oil, the Sopa chairman said. Seeking curb on excessive import of edible oils, the Soybean Processors Association of India (Sopa) has asked the government to fix TRQ (tariff rate quota) of one million tonne for soybean to help the industry and farmers. The reasons for the excessive import are low prices in the world market and low custom duty in India,” Sopa chairman Davish Jain said in a letter to commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

According to Jain, import of soybean oil is also having a deleterious effect on Indian farmers, the soy industry and soy meal exports. The soybean industry and farmers have now reached a stage where the future looks grim, he said. The association has suggested that the government should fix a TRQ of one million tonne for soybean oil to be imported at the current rate of customs duty and any quantity above the TRQ should be charged the WTO-bound rate of 45%.

TRQ could also be fixed for other edible oils, the association said. Such measures will substantially reduce the foreign exchange outflow. In 2015, some 30.30 lakh tonne of soybean oil was imported as against 21.01 lakh tonne in 2014. The association has also made representations to food and consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan and agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh.

This move is likely to help the soya oil making companies like Rasoya Proteins Ltd (Re.0.24). The shares of Rasoya Proteins Ltd seems to have buttoned out, with minimum downside. However, fresh buying should be avoided unless, there is some positive news regarding opening of the main plant and the power plants.

Meanwhile, the scrip of Brooks Laboratories Ltd, was recommended to the Premium Group Members at Rs.86.10 on 16 December, 2016. The scrip made a 52-week high of Rs.124.15 on 12 January, 2016 and is now trading at Rs.99.85.

Today, a well known stock from the software sector has been recommended to the Premium Group Members, for a short term target of Rs.145.

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