India aims to double edible oil output to trim reliance on imports

A worker checks a fresh fruit bunch of oil palm during harvest at a palm oil plantation in Khammam district in southern state of Telangana, India, July 12, 2022.

India on Thursday approved a 101 billion rupee ($1.2 billion) programme to double edible oil production in the country within seven years, aiming to reduce dependence on costlier imports, the government said in a statement.

The world's largest importer of edible oils, India currently fulfils nearly two-thirds of its demand through overseas purchases of palm oil, soyoil, and sunflower oil, primarily from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.

Under the programme, oilseed productivity will be increased by promoting high-yielding, high-oil content varieties and expanding cultivation. Advanced technologies like genome editing will be used to develop superior seeds, the statement said.

The programme aims to increase edible oil production from the current 12.7 million metric tons to 25.45 million tons by 2030-31, fulfilling around 72% of the country's projected domestic requirement.

The country's edible oil import bill surged to $15 billion in 2023/24 from $2.2 billion in 2006/07. During the same period, India's edible oil imports rose to 15.5 million metric tons from 4.37 million tons.

Last month, India raised the basic import tax on crude and refined edible oils by 20 percentage points to help protect farmers struggling with lower oilseed prices.