InfoSAWIT, MUMBAI – The Government of India planned to locally escalate vegetable oil seeds production, as Minister of Finance India told, Wednesday (7/2/2024). It would be part of the plans to minimize vegetable oil imports that have been very expensive from the biggest vegetable oil producers in the world, such as, Asia, South America, and Black Sea
India is the biggest vegetable oil importer in the world. It spent about US$ 20,8 billion to purchase vegetable oil until March 2023. The stagnant production forced the country to get more imports up to two third of its annual consumption that reached about 23 million metric tons. Palm oil contributed hardly 60% of the total vegetable oil import in the country.
One strategy would be formulated to get oil seed independency, such as, canola, soybean, sesame, soyoil, and sunflower, as Nirmala Sitharaman told about annual temporary budget that would start on 1 April, the new research to develop superior variety, widely implement modern agricultural technic, get market connection, purchase guarantee, additional values, plant insurance and everything would help increase seed oil production.
As InfoSAWIT quoted from Reuters, she did not mentioned the numbers of investment needed to get vegetable oil independency. Though there was urgency for years to locally escalate the production, oil seed production was stagnant, not like other plants, such as, rice and wheat. Oil seed production in India increased 2,4% per year in the past two decades though the demand increased because of increasing population and prosperity.
Vegetable oil industrial association, Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) wanted that Ministry of Finance to deliver financial support which is available for new program to escalate vegetable oil seed production. “Our goal is about to minimize vegetable oil import dependency from 60% to be 30% for the next five years,” President of SEA India, Ajay Jhunjhunwala said.
India purchased palm oil from India, Malaysia, and Thailand. India imported soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine. (T2)
