The year-wise quantity and value of import of white poppy seeds in the country during the last three years is as below:

IMPORT OF POPPY SEED (HS CODE-12079100)
YEAR	QTY(MT)	VAL (RS  IN CRORE)
2010-11	16537.08	179.09
2011-12	19605.64	177.57
2012-13	13209.55	151.03
2013-14*	8893.00	189.91
Note: Figures for 2013-14 (upto September 2013) is provisional.

The Government protects the domestic cultivators of poppy seeds against cheap imports in two ways, by: (i) imposing a customs duty and (ii) prescribing a minimum tariff value. At present, the effective customs duty on imported poppy seeds is 25.42% ad valorem and the minimum tariff value is fixed at US $ 4,395 per MT.

The information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Dr. E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan in Rajya Sabha today.

Customs protection for poppy seed cultivators maintained through duty and tariff floor, shaping import costs and valuation. The Government protects domestic poppy seed cultivators by imposing an ad valorem customs duty and by prescribing a minimum tariff value for imports; these concurrent measures raise the cost of imported white poppy seeds and establish a valuation floor for tariff assessment. The Ministry reports current applied rates and records recent import quantities and values, with the latest year-to-date figures marked provisional.