Production of pulses, oilseeds on rise: Govt
The Centre has informed a high-level parliamentary panel that domestic production of pulses and edible oils has grown at a faster pace in the last 10 years than the previous decade, even as lawmakers raised concerns over India’s dependence on imports to meet demand.
In its presentation to the Standing Committee on Agriculture, the government stated that at 15.66 million metric tonnes (MMT), imports accounted for 56 per cent of the domestic demand for edible oils in 2023-24.
In a meeting on June 20, the Agriculture Ministry, however, emphasised that work was being undertaken for achieving self-sufficiency in the sector, said sources.
They further claimed that the ministry also noted that oilseeds production had risen by 55 per cent from 2014-15 to 2024-25, with third advance estimate pegging its production at 426.09 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal. The corresponding increase was 13 per cent from 2004-05 to 2014-15.
With the country almost entirely dependent on imports to meet the palm oil demand, some MPs flagged health hazards associated with the relatively cheap edible oil, sources said. The ministry said India’s heavy dependence on edible oil imports was costing Rs 80,000 crore annually.
Based on the 2023-24 figure shared by the ministry in its presentation, India’s domestic production was sufficient to meet the requirement of mustard and groundnut oils, but had to import 3.49 MMT of sunflower oil against the consumption of 3.55 MMT. It also imported more than 60 per cent of the soyabean oil.
The presentation on pulses said their production rose by 47 per cent between 2014-15 and 2024-25, a period marked by the continuing BJP-led NDA government, against 31 per cent in 2004-14, when the Congress-led UPA was in power.
MPs in the meeting called for incentivising farmers growing paddy and wheat to shift to pulses and other crops. The ministry spoke in detail about the government’s roadmap to achieve self-reliance in pulses and oilseeds production by 2030-31.
India