EDIBLE OIL IMPORTS
WHY IN NEWS ?
- Recently India’s edible oil imports in August rose 5% to a record 1.85 million metric tons as refiners purchased more than 1 million tons of palm oil for the second consecutive month to build stocks for upcoming festivals.
INDIA’S EDIBLE OIL IMPORTS :
- Total imports of edible oils by India shot up 25% in the first nine months (November 2022 to July 2023) of the oil year 2022-23.
- An oil year extends from November to October of next year.
- SEA is estimating that India could end up importing as much as 15.5 million tonnes of vegetable oil in 2022-23, surpassing the past record of 15.1 million tonnes in 2016-17.
- Palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia comprise a bulk (59%) of cooking oil imports.
- In 2021-22, India’s edible oil import bill surged 34% to ₹1.6 trillion.
DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF OILSEEDS:
- During the rain-fed kharif crop season (June to October) the major oilseed crops grown are soya bean and groundnut.
- Soya bean, which is the largest kharif oilseed, has been planted in more than 12.5 million hectares—marginally more than last year.
- But the crop is in a poor state due to a prolonged dry spell in major producing states such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Similarly, erratic rains have impacted the groundnut crop in Gujarat and Karnataka.
- According to US-based Gro Intelligence, a farm data and forecasting company, a similar rainfall situation led to a 24% drop in soya production in 2017.
STEPS TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT:
- The government lowered import duties and urged retail brands to slash prices as global prices fell earlier this year.
- As a long-term solution, India is also pushing production of oil palm in 15 states with a focus on the North-east and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- However, this will take time to show results.
- Last October, the biotech regulator also approved the environmental release of genetically modified mustard.
- However, the Supreme Court is yet to allow field trials of transgenic mustard.
SYLLABUS: PRELIMS, CURRENT AFFAIRS
