The Centre’s push for oilseeds production can potentially bring down India’s dependence on imports for edible oil.

The share of imports in overall edible oil consumption may decline from 60 per cent at present to about 55 per cent by FY22, according to rating agency ICRA.

The Centre’s National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm (NMOOP) — to encourage the adoption of newly released varieties and improved agro-techniques in oilseed crops — aims to increase oilseed production to 42 million tonnes by FY22, from 34 million tonnes now.

ICRA projects a reduction of five percentage points in the share of imports in overall edible oil consumption.

“ICRA estimates that this can translating into saving of around ₹6,500 crore of foreign exchange,” ICRA said in a statement.

India imported about 15 million tonnes of edible oil worth around ₹65,000 crore in 2015-16 against a total demand of 24 million tonnes.

Edible oil imports constitute around 2.5 per cent of India’s total import bill.

According to the rating agency, what’s liming production at present are: a lack of suitable varieties, high-cost of cultivation, dearth of timely availability of inputs, and low and fluctuating prices. Also, the monsoon remains a crucial factor, as the majority of the area — about 75 per cent under oilseed cultivation — is still rain fed.

Slow growth

“There has been some progress in increasing the area under cultivation and improving yields, but the growth has been slow.

“Average yield of various oilseeds crops in India, though improved, is lower than the world average and significantly lower than other major oilseeds producing nations,” said Sachin Sachdeva, Associate Head & AVP – Corporate Ratings, ICRA.

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