MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--India's edible oil prices during the week ended Friday
edged higher due to fears that summer-sown oilseed crop yields will be hit by
below normal monsoons.

  India's annual monsoon rains during the June 1-24 period were 54% below
normal, while the monsoon rains for the year are forecast to be only around 93%
of the long-term average.

  India's leading soybean producing state, Madhya Pradesh, has yet to begin
sowing the crop in 2009 as the annual monsoon rains have been scant, said D.N.
Sharma, director of agriculture in Madhya Pradesh's state government. Sowing
will only start after the state gets three to four inches of rainfall, he
added.

  Planting of India's summer crop, which begins in June, relies on the
southwest monsoons as 60% of the farmland is rain-fed.

  During June 1-25, oilseed planting in India fell to 663,000 hectares compared
with 1.92 million hectares during the same period a year ago, government data
showed.

  "Low oilseed output this year would mean sharply higher edible oil imports in
the coming months," said a Mumbai-based trader.

  India's edible oil imports since the 2008-09 marketing year began in November
have jumped 88% to 4.79 million tons.

  Following the sharp rise in imports, edible oil traders have intensified
their demand for an import duty on crude edible oils in the federal budget.

  India currently charges no duty on imports of crude edible oils, but imposes
a 7.5% duty on imports of refined edible oils.

  Prices of refined soyoil rose to 45,500 Indian Rupees a metric ton ($933)
from INR45,200/ton last week.

  Refined, bleached and deodorized palm olein prices rose to INR39,000/ton from
INR38,600/ton last week, while crude palm oil was at INR34,700/ton, up from
INR33,800/ton last week.