India, May 20 -- India's edible oil imports rose 3 per cent to 166.51 lakh tonnes in the 2025-26 fiscal year, driven largely by a sharp jump in duty-free imports from Nepal, industry body Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said on Tuesday.

Imports had stood at 161.82 lakh tonnes in the prior fiscal year.

Nepal, which enjoys zero-duty access to Indian markets under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, exported 7.36 lakh tonnes of edible oils to India during the year, more than double the 3.45 lakh tonnes shipped in the previous fiscal, a rise of 113 per cent.

Refined soybean oil made up the bulk of Nepal's exports to India, with smaller volumes of sunflower oil, RBD Palmolein and rapeseed oil also traded. "The ...