Thank you porter for your reponse

If I convert my excel file to csv file, is it possible to read the first column of data in csv file using shell script?

i.e (in my csv file I have)
1234,bob
2345,tom
3345,mary

What I need to accomplish is reading the first column (1234,2345,3345) using shell script and pass the number to a stored procedure for executing a select statement (select * from db where id in (1234,2345,3345 .....))

Any help in this would be really appreciated