Time To Give Oilseeds Production A Boost

Import of this commodity is costing India dear. The trade tussle with Malaysia should be used to strive for self-sufficiency

- Sthanu R Nair

In response to Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s remarks at the UN against India’s decision to read down Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, in October this year, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India — the apex edible oil trade body — has issued an advisory to its members to avoid import of palm oil from Malaysia. On its part, the Union government has imposed a 5 per cent safeguard duty on palm oil imports from Malaysia with the goal of restricting imports from that country.

Malaysia is the world’s second-largest producer and exporter of palm oil after Indonesia. India is the world’s largest importer of edible oil. As much as 70 per cent of India’s domestic demand for edible oil is met through imports, of which palm oil constitutes around 80 per cent. India is the third-largest export destination for Malaysian palm oil.

Though Indian refiners have resumed purchasing Malaysian palm oil after a gap of close to a month, the ‘trade spat’ with Malaysia draws our attention on the need for achieving self-sufficiency in oilseeds and edible oils production, thereby reducing India’s huge edible oil import and foreign exchange outflow.

In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had called for attaining self-reliance in oilseeds production. The Commerce and Industry Ministry recently asked the Agriculture Ministry to prepare a plan for achieving self-sufficiency in edible oils. India’s edible oil import bill currently exceeds ₹60,000 crore per year.