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Informist, Thursday, Jul 18, 2024

 

--NITI Aayog Chand: Cereal output trebled in last 50 years 

--CONTEXT: NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand speaks at event 

--NITI Aayog Chand: Oilseed output in last 50 yrs grew four times 

--NITI Aayog Chand:Oilseed output, edible oil consumption gap widening 

--NITI Aayog Chand: Meeting 60?ible oils requirement via imports 

--NITI Aayog Chand: India may stay edible oil deficit even till 2047

NEW DELHI - India is unlikely to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils even by 2047, according to NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand. "India is likely to see a long-term (edible oil consumption) growth rate of 1.3%, slightly higher than the population growth rate which in the long run is expected to be 0.6-0.7%," Chand said, citing NITI Aayog demand projections for 2047. 

 

Due to the growing gap between edible oil consumption and production growth rate, India depends on imports to meet 60% of its domestic requirements, Chand said at the Vegoils Vision 2030 conference here today. 

 

India's edible oilseed production has increased four times in the last 50 years, while cereal production grew only three times. But the consumption growth of edible oils has surged roughly 600% in the last 50 years, against 10% in cereals, Chand said. 

 

"India exports cereals, especially rice, but on the other hand, India is the biggest importer of edible oil in the world," Chand said.

Commodity expert G. Chandrasekhar said the NITI Aayog's projections for 2047 are "defeatist". He argued that self-sufficiency is achievable with the right policy interventions, transparent and reliable data flow, and innovative technology.

 

In the Interim Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will formulate a strategy to achieve self-sufficiency in oilseed production. The strategy will focus on improving the production of mustard, groundnut, sesame, soybean, and sunflower, the minister said.

 

Mustard, groundnut, sunflower, and soybean are among the major oilseeds grown in the country. Through the initiative, the government is focusing on increasing the domestic output of edible oilseeds in the country.

 

Among the oilseeds, Chand said soybean has seen the most impressive output growth rate. However, he pointed out that growth has been on the back of acreage expansion and not yields. It is also a "great failure story" as soybean yields have stagnated at 1 tn per ha for the last 50 years, Chand said. 

"Soybean was introduced in India by Illinois University in USA... to address India's deficiency of pulses, protein deficiency, but soybean turned out to be an oilseed rather than a pulse crop," Chand said.  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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