Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Notice (8): Undefined variable: urlPrefix [APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8]latest-news-updates/oiling-the-oilseeds-economy-4638.html"/> LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Oiling the oilseeds economy | Im4change.org
Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Oiling the oilseeds economy

Edible oil imports have surged to a record 9.24 million tonnes last year and were estimated to be nearly Rs 38,000 crore. They have emerged as the third most important import item, next only to petroleum products and gold. India is now the world’s largest importer of cooking fats, meeting more than half of its requirement through overseas supplies. Considering the country’s huge and fast-growing demand for cooking oils, such high import dependence should be a cause for concern. This is especially so because palm oil, which accounts for 80 per cent of the imports, is available chiefly in only two countries, Malaysia and Indonesia. Any shortage of supply owing to crop failure or disruption of inflows will cause scarcity in the domestic market. What is even more disquieting is that the gap between domestic demand and supply of vegetable fats is set to widen, since indigenous production of oilseeds is stagnant while the demand continues to grow. An important reason for this imbalance is that flawed official policies have for long favoured consumers over producers of oilseeds. Low import duties, that were further reduced in 2008 in response to inflationary concerns at home, remain in place even when global prices have softened. This is encouraging imports that, in turn, are hurting domestic producers. To make matters worse, while the government has been happy to raise the minimum support prices (MSPs) of most food crops, including costly pulses, the MSP for oilseeds has been raised only nominally, insufficient even to cover the rise in production costs.

As a result, cultivation of oilseeds has turned unattractive compared to more profitable alternative crops. With farmers not investing in new seeds and technology, net productivity of oilseeds in India is now less than half of the world average and one-fourth of that in developed countries. It needs to be realised that, unlike pulses where domestic output is hard to increase for want of technology, oilseeds production can easily be stepped up to reduce, if not wholly bridge, the availability gap. In fact, this has been successfully done in the past, notably in the late 1980s when, like at present, imports had risen to unsustainable levels. What did the trick was a well-conceived strategy mooted by the oilseed technology mission and implemented with full backing of the government. It allowed domestic prices to fluctuate within a fixed price band which protected the interests of both producers and consumers. Thus, while the interests of the consumer were protected with a ceiling, that of the producer were protected by a floor. Oilseed growers found this a helpful mechanism. There is no reason why a similar approach will not work today. In fact, far better production technologies, including superior crop varieties, are available now. What is missing is the farmers’ interest in oilseeds cultivation which must be restored to reduce excessive import dependence.