Since only 8.2 kg per person in 2001, the average Indian now consumes 23.5 kg of edible oil every year. This exceeds the limit of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) 12 kg.
Chand said the government is working to strengthen domestic production as part of the national mission on edible oils. “This has two components. One is about palm oil that provides higher production than crops, such as soy and mustard. The other component is about other oils in general. We work on both,” he said.
Data from the Indian Association of Extraction Extracts of the solvent (SEA) have shown that the current edible oil consumption in the country is 25-26 million tonnes and domestic production is 11 million tonnes. The remaining 60 percent come from imports. Earth imports edible palm oil from countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, soybean oil from Argentina and Brazil and sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine.
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While home oil production has increased, it is not enough to cope with demand.
According to the people associated with the edible oil sector, India was up to 90. However, the years of low commodity prices have caused the cultivation of oilseeds to not use the decision for farmers and creators. This has led to less attraction to the authorities to improve the production and productivity of oilseeds.
“Indian import requirements in the mid -90s were only 300,000 tonnes,” said BV Mehta, CEO at sea. “With the opening of the economy and the growing level of income, India’s consumption has been steadily increasing. Compared to demand, the production of oilseeds stagnated and created a massive imbalance in the bidding.”
In the years 2023-24 (estimated) India imported 16 million tonnes (Mt) of edible oils, while domestic production met only 40-45% of the country’s requirements. This situation is a significant challenge for the country’s goal to achieve self -sufficiency in edible oils.
Palm oil consumption in India is now more than 37%of the total consumption of edible oil, according to the sea data, soy oil contains about 20%, followed by a mustard oil to 14%and sunflower oil at 13%.
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Palm oil is mainly consumed by Horeca (hotels, restaurants & catering), due to food demand outside home, snacks, food ready to eat, bakery and confectionery. The demand for this oil in the coming years is expected to increase 10-15%annually.
The increase in consumption was in the segment of edible oils. “In 1998, we started with 100 tons of rice bran oil daily. Now we have a capacity of 600 tonnes daily. We are witnessing 15%year -on -year,” said AR Sharma, chairman of the Ricela Group, primarily known for the production and processing of oil bran oil.
Health problems
High oil consumption can lead to various health problems, mainly due to the high content of calories and fats. Excessive oil intake can contribute to weight gain, obesity and increase the risk of heart disease, type II diabetes and certain cancers.
“Oil consumption is very high in Indian society. It is not limited to fried objects, but also in routine foods, household consumption is very high and unlimited in levels-I, where there is little awareness in Haryana, but also in level-II and level-III,” Mansi Chratrath, Nutritionist from Panchk. “Not only that eating has increased massively over time, or even if people don’t eat, order at home,”
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“High consumption has led to many health problems and the impact of the cardiovascular system, the digestive system and even the occurrence of greasy liver has become very common these days, which is the cause of concern. Toxicity is being built in the body and is not good for people suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure,” she added.
Domestic production
The center takes a number of steps to increase self -sufficiency. In October 2024, the Union’s cabinet approved the national mission on oils for oils (NMEO-oseny) to strengthen home oilseeds and achieve self-confidence. The mission will be carried out for seven years, from 2024-25 to 2030-31, with financial expense £10,103 crore.
The newly approved NMEO-oil seeds will focus on increasing the production of key crops of primary oilseeds, such as rape, oil, soy, sunflower and SESAM, as well as increased collection and extraction from secondary sources such as cotton, rice oils and tree oils. The aim of the mission is to increase the production of primary oilseed from 39 million tonnes (2022-23) to 69.7 million tons up to 2030-31.
The center also launched a national mission on edible oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) in 2021 with expenditure £11,040 Crore to increase oil palms in the ground.
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Together, these two missions focus on increasing the production of domestic edible oil to 25.45 million tonnes to 2030-31, with around 72% of the expected domestic requirements.
This will be achieved by supporting the adoption of high -profit seed varieties with a high oil content, expanding cultivation to areas with rice infusion and supporting intercropping.
(Tagstotranslate) oil food
