Target set for six-fold rise in palm oil output by 2032; current output 0.4 MT
06/08/2024 (Financial Express) - The country is aiming to increase domestic palm oil production from the current level of 0.4 million tonne (MT) to 2.5 MT by 2032 under the national oil palm mission through adding at least 0.1 million hectare (MH) of new plantation annually in the five to six years, according to leading industry officials.
Sougata Niyogi, head, Godrej Agrovet, palm oil division, which owns a third of total palm plantation in the country, told FE that domestic production of palm oil is likely to meet around 25% of the current annual imports of palm oil estimated at around 9.6 MT by 2032.
Industry has projected the plantation to increase to 1 MH by 2029 from the current level of 0. 5 MH. After four years of plantation, fruits can be extracted for oil.
Out of these, Godrej Agrovet is aiming to increase its palm plantation from the current level of 65,000 hectare, to 0.1 MH by 2027. The company has plantations mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam,Tripura, Odisha and Tamil Nadu.
“Our palm oil production will increase from the current level of 0.12 MT to 0.2 MT by 2027-28,” Niyogi said.
From the current level of 75,000 hectare of palm plantation across 10 states, Patanjali Foods (PF) is aiming to add 0.4 MH by 2028.
“As a rough estimate, in the fullness of time when the entire plantation will be bearing fruits, the oil production will be somewhere around 1 MT.” Sanjeev Asthana, CEO, PF, said
Godrej Agrovet, Patanjali food and 3F oil palm agrotech industries account for a major chunk of the country’s oil palm plantations while there are 22 odd regional players in plantation.
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala are the major oil palm growing states, which accounts for 98% of the total production.
India is the world’s second-largest consumer and number one vegetable oil import and meets about 58% of its consumption of around 24 MT annually through imports. Trade sources said that the domestic consumption is likely to increase to around 30 MT in the next 3 to 4 years.
Currently, India produces about 44% of its domestic edible oil consumption requirement. Mustard (40%), soybean (24%) and groundnut (7%) are other oils who have a share in domestic production.
India’s annual imports are around 13-14 MT. Around 9 MT of palm oil is imported from Indonesia and Malaysia, while other oils, such as soya and sunflower, come from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.