Imports of milk, foodgrains, edible oils and pulses, considered sensitive for domestic producers, surged by 40.5 per cent in 2009-10 to Rs 65,564 crore.

According to official data, the import bill for such items was Rs 46,667 crore in 2008-09.

The government monitors the import of certain agricultural and non-agricultural products to prevent an increase in inward shipments from having a direct impact on domestic players.

Products such as edible oil, milk, dairy products, coffee and tea fall in the sensitive items category.

Import of milk and its products increased to Rs 290 crore in 2009-10, up 274 per cent from Rs 77.6 crore in the previous fiscal, the data revealed.

Similarly, the import of foodgrains and edible oils increased by 259.2 per cent (Rs 118 crore) and 63.3 per cent (Rs 25,975.34 crore) year on year.

India, a net importer of pulses, brought in commodities worth Rs 10,391.29 crore in the last fiscal while the import bill was only Rs 6,529.73 crore in 2008-09.

The government allows duty-free import of edible oil and pulses to step up domestic availability for controlling prices. Tea and coffee imports went up to Rs 286.88 crore in the period, from Rs 202.26 crore.

A jump in the import of these articles was in contrast with the trend in the country's overall imports, which declined by 0.7 per cent to Rs 8,35,264 crore in 2009-10.

Imports of sensitive items amounted to 5 per cent of the country's total imports during the period, against 3.4 per cent in the previous year.

Import of these items from Indonesia, China, Brazil, Malaysia, US, Canada, Japan, Argentina and Australia has gone up while that from Germany and Tanzania has fallen, the release stated.