26/03/2014 (Financial Express) - Ruchi Soya Industries, one of India's largest edible oil companies, plans to double its domestic production of crude palm oil (CPO) in four years, company officials said. The company is currently the leading player in oil palm processing in the country, with access to nearly 2 lakh hectares of land that can be utilised for oil palm cultivation. India is the world's biggest buyer of vegetable oil, importing nearly 60 % of its annual consumption.

“Currently, we have an annual production of 50,000 tonne of CPO and we hope to double it to 1 lakh tone in four years. In the next eight years, we will increase our CPO production to 2 lakh tonne as our plantations start to yield more palm fruits,”NK Arora, head, Oil Palm division of Ruchi told FE.

Ruchi is working closely with farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. “In Andhra Pradesh alone, we have access to over 58,350 hectares of land and we see good potential in the state. Farmers in the upper reaches of the Godavari, where the water table is low, have taken to oil palm and acceptance is increasing for the crop,” he added.