Although oilseed production has increased over the past 4 years, India is still dependent on imports
Although India’s oilseed production has grown by 19% between 2018-19 and 2021-22, it still depends on commodity imports to meet more than 60% of domestic demand.
According to the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs, India produced 31.52 million tons of oilseeds in 2018-19, up 19% to 37.15 million tons in 2021-22.
In fact, the country’s oilseed production has increased significantly over the past four years, reaching 33.22 million tons in 2019-20 and 35.95 million tons in 2020-21.
Even the estimated production of soybeans, according to the second advance estimate of the General Department of Economic Affairs and Statistics, is 13.12 million tons in the period 2021-22 compared with the production of 12.61 million tons in the period of 2020 -21.
However, due to dependence on imports of oilseeds and various cooking oils, India is facing a shortage of supply for these essential commodities and the government is forced to conduct inspections. irregular inspection and inspection to limit hoarding and black marketing of these items. Raids are also underway to control the price rise of these commodities.
Russia and Ukraine, which are currently at war, are the two main suppliers of sunflower oil to India. Due to the geopolitical tensions arising from the conflict, the prices of soybean oil, sunflower oil and palm oil have increased sharply in the past two months due to shortage of supply.
According to official data, the average retail prices of soybean oil, sunflower oil and palm oil have increased sharply in the past three months.
The average retail price of sunflower oil is at a high of Rs 184.58/kg on April 4 compared to Rs 161.71/kg on January 1, 2022.
Food Minister Sudhanshu Pandey said on Monday that a central team along with state government officials was conducting inspections in various oil- and oilseed-producing states.
Major states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are currently covered, he said, adding that the move would be intensified in the coming days.
The senior official also announced that the government has cut import taxes on cooking oil, expanded the stockpiling limit of goods and ensured early clearance for ships at ports, besides creating favorable conditions. for imports through private traders.
