India’s domestic production of oilseeds had increased by 55 per cent from 2014-15 to 2024-25, and the production of pulses by 47 per cent in the same period, the government told a parliamentary committee on June 20 after MPs raised concerns over the country’s dependence on imports to meet domestic demand.
The presentation to the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Food Processing also said imports were at 15.66 million metric tonnes (MMT), which accounted for 56 per cent of the domestic demand for edible oils in 2023-24.
To show its efforts to bring up domestic production of pulses and oilseeds in the past decade, the government said that it had pegged the third advance estimate of oilseeds production at 426.09 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal.
The increase in oilseeds grown locally at 55 per cent since 2014-15 was also higher than the 13 per cent rise between 2004-05 and 2014-15, the agriculture ministry informed.
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The presentation on pulses showed that their production rise by 47 per cent between 2014-15 and 2024-25, a period marked by the continuing BJP-led NDA government, was also higher than the 31 per cent increase in 2004-14, when the Congress-led UPA was in power.
However, the ministry acknowledged that India’s heavy dependence on edible oil imports was continuing, costing the country more ₹80,000 crore annually.
With the country almost entirely dependent on imports to meet palm oil demand, some MPs flagged the health hazards associated with the relatively cheap edible oil, sources said.
Based on the 2023-24 figures shared by the agriculture ministry, 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 its soyabean oil consumption.
While efforts are underway to achieve ‘aatmanirbharta’ (self-sufficiency) in the sector of pulses and oilseeds production by 2030-31, the government faces challenges in boosting pulse production. It noted that 75 per cent of these crops are rain-fed and grown on marginal lands with low fertility by small and marginal farmers.
The MPs called for incentivising farmers growing paddy and wheat to shift to pulses and other crops.
The presentation also touched on the nationwide campaign for “optimal utilization of edible oils and its health benefits” following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a 10 per cent cut in their intake for overall fitness
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