India’s vegetable oil imports, together with 15.96 mt of edible oil, totalled 16.23 mt within the 2023-24 oil 12 months, towards an estimated edible oil consumption of 26 mt in 2023-24
The Indian authorities launched the Nationwide Mission on Edible Oil (Oilseeds) in October 2024, allocating an estimated ₹10,103 crore. This initiative goals to spice up oilseed crop manufacturing to 69.7 million tonnes (mt) by 2030-31. Alongside the Nationwide Mission on Edible Oil – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), the Centre targets growing home edible oil manufacturing to 25.45 mt by 2030-31, intending to satisfy roughly 72 per cent of the projected home requirement of 35.35 mt.
The NMEO-OP, launched in August 2021, sought to boost crude palm oil manufacturing to 1.12 mt by 2025-26 by increasing cultivation to an extra 6.64 lakh hectares (lh). Nonetheless, by FY 2024-25, just one.89 lh of further space had been coated. Moreover, within the first season after the NMEO (Oilseeds) rollout, each mustard space and manufacturing declined throughout Rabi 2024-25.
India’s oil basket
As farmers put together for Kharif oilseed sowing (soybean, groundnut, and sunflower), the federal government signalled its priorities by lowering the import responsibility on crude palm oil from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, efficient Might 31. The rationale given for this discount was to widen the worth hole between crude and refined oil, stopping the dominance of completed merchandise. Nonetheless, latest information signifies that the share of crude oils in India’s edible oil import basket has fallen to 7 per cent in Might 2025 from 18 per cent in November 2024, whereas refined oils have elevated to 93 per cent from 82 per cent in the identical interval.
India’s vegetable oil imports, together with 15.96 mt of edible oil, totalled 16.23 mt within the 2023-24 oil 12 months (November-October). This represents a 3 per cent lower from 16.71 mt in 2022-23. In worth phrases, edible oil imports had been $15.9 billion (₹1.32 lakh crore) in 2023-24, down from $16.65 billion (₹1.38 lakh crore) in 2022-23, based on information compiled by the Solvent Extractors Affiliation of India.
With estimated edible oil consumption at 26 mt in 2023-24, and an annual progress fee of 3-4 per cent, demand is projected to achieve 28-30 mt by 2029-30.
Name for devoted management
BM Vyas, a revered skilled and former managing director of Amul, just lately emphasised the necessity for a reliable and dedicated crew to guide the oilseeds mission, if the federal government is severe about attaining self-sufficiency in edible oil. He pressured the significance of granting this crew full autonomy in decision-making and motion, with energetic farmer involvement.
Presently, the agriculture minister heads the oilseeds mission. Critics argue that ministers typically lack the time required for such a demanding position and are unlikely to step all the way down to appoint a full-time chief. This contrasts with the 1986 Expertise Mission on Oilseeds (TMO), which was led by Sam Pitroda, who devoted his full time to the mission in shut coordination with the Nationwide Dairy Improvement Board (NDDB). The TMO’s success was evident as oilseeds acreage surged to 25.3 million hectares (mh) in 1994-95 from round 15.6-19 mh between 1970-71 and 1985-86. This led to a rise in oilseed manufacturing to 21.34 mt from roughly 7-12.9 mt, and yields rose to eight.4 quintal/hectare from 4.5-6.84 quintal/hectare.
Till 1994, India was practically 98 per cent self-sufficient in edible oil, with minimal imports. The State Buying and selling Company (STC) was the only canalising company for imports when obligatory, because the non-public sector was not permitted to import edible oil. Within the 1994-95 crop 12 months (July-June), India’s oilseeds manufacturing was 21.34 mt with a mean yield of 843 kg per hectare.
In distinction, the oilseeds output in 2024-25 reached 42.61 mt (an 86 per cent leap) with a mean yield of 1,408 kg per hectare (a 67% enhance). The cumulative space beneath oilseeds has additionally elevated by practically 20 per cent to 30.27 million hectares over the past three many years.
Regardless of these positive aspects, the manufacturing progress has not saved tempo with the rising demand, resulting in a widening hole. As enlargement of agricultural land past a sure restrict is unfeasible, imports have develop into an unavoidable necessity. Agricultural scientists typically face criticism for not partaking instantly with farmers, a task primarily falling beneath the extension divisions of central and state governments.
The groundnut paradox
In line with official information, the share of groundnut in whole oilseeds manufacturing has dropped to twenty-eight per cent in 2024-25 from 38 per cent in 1994-95, share of sunflower to lower than 0.5 per cent from practically 6 per cent, share of sesamum to lower than 2 per cent from practically 3 per cent, safflower to 0.1 per cent from 2 per cent, linseed 0.27 per cent from 1.5 per cent and niger seed to 0.03 per cent from 0.9 per cent.
Solely share of soyabean has gone up from 18 per cent to 36 per cent and that of mustard from 27 per cent to 29.6 per cent in final three many years.
The importance of the share of every oilseed needs to be seen with its oil content material as as an illustration because of 18-20 per cent oil content material in soyabean (most 200 litres oil could be extracted from 1 tonne of soyabean) the precise profit in augmenting edible oil availability within the nation might not be a lot even when its space and manufacturing goes up, when put next with groundnut, which comprises 48-50 per cent oil. So, precedence needs to be on unique conventional oilseeds, which seems a far distant actuality for now.
Subsequent comes the yield hole between completely different areas in every oilseed, which has been talked about in final twenty years with none tangible profit, although there are a couple of exceptions. Consultants stated that the yield hole will not be confined to oilseed and it’s there in each different crop. There are a number of components like soil situation, agro climatic zone, seed varieties, water availability, utility of crop vitamins and pesticides that contribute to find out yield of a crop, they stated.
Printed on June 13, 2025
