India plans to increase oilseed production to 70 mln tons by 2031

The Government of India has launched the National Mission on Edible Oils and Oilseeds (NMEO-OS) with a budget of Rs 10,103.38 crore to increase domestic oilseed production to 70 million tons by 2030-31. This was stated by the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Nimuben Jayantibhai Bambhania in the Parliament.

According to her, about 57% of the country’s edible oil needs are currently met by imports, as domestic production does not cover demand. The NMEO-OS mission is aimed at increasing the production of major oilseeds such as rapeseed-mustard, peanuts, soybeans, sunflower and sesame, as well as improving the efficiency of their collection and processing from secondary sources.

In addition, the government has launched the NMEO-Oil Palm program, which aims to expand the area under palm oil, especially in the northeastern states of India. It is planned to attract additional 650 thousand hectares for oil palm cultivation, which will help reduce dependence on imports.

In order to support local oilseed producers, the government raised the basic import duty on crude soybean, palm and sunflower oil to 20%, which eventually raised the total import tax to 27.5%. Also, starting from September 2024, the duty on refined palm, sunflower and soybean oil increased from 12.5% to 32.5%.

These measures are expected to contribute to the development of the oil extraction industry in the country, reduce dependence on imports and increase India’s self-sufficiency in edible oils in the coming years.

Tags: sunflower oil, soybean oil, oilseeds, India, palm oil