1042 ECONOMICS & WORLD TRADE The oil wealth of India ble commercial oilseeds in India. The edible varieties are groundnut, mus- tard/rapeseed. sesamum, soybean. sunflower, safflower. cottonseed. nigerseed and coconut. Castcrseed and linseed arc the two most impor- rant nonedible oil seeds. In addition, there arc several minor. nonconven- tional oilseeds of tree origin, e.g .. Deem, sal, karanja, kokum. mango kernel and mahua. Apart from oilseeds. rice bran is emerging as an Important source of oil for edible as well as for nonedible applications. Also, in the past few years, indigenous palm oil has started appearing in the market in small quantities, as a result of the large-scale oil palm plantations in various pans of the country. Despite the large area under oilseed cullivation and the wide range of varieties available, India's I ndiais a vast and ancient country having a wide range of oilseed varieties that are exploited com- mercially. This paper presents an overview of vegetable oil wealth of India covering production of oilseeds and oils, the present status concerning the demand and supply of oils, vanes- pati and margarine, and exports. The future potential also is discussed. Oilseeds occupy a very important position in the Indian agricultural economy. After food grains, oilseeds are the second-largest crop in the country. Oil seeds are cultivated on about 25 million hectares of land which is about 10% of India's total cultivated area. In this regard, India occupies second position in the world, after the United States, which has more than 29 million hectares under oilseeds cultivation. India is one of the world's leading producers of cuseeds. producing over 10% of the world's total output. This ancient fertile coun- try perhaps has the largest number of commercial oilseed varieties. In all. there are nine edible and two nonedi- TIU __ ,. ... 01". JIIIIORM", ~hM" lfIQ __ ,...,,..4U •. :'It I r, .. "..., 21w aUbll .... _'" , .... _ .. 19954 us D. n •• " ~.e"""" "." ;'.rf.".." 1_ .,....,,_ ..._ --- _1aIIQ~ .,...,,,.A "'51 ........ 21 .. --- INFORM, \ot)I, 4. no. 9 (September 1993)
Transcript
1042
ECONOMICS & WORLD TRADE
The oil wealth of Indiable commercial oilseeds in India. Theedible varieties are groundnut, mus-tard/rapeseed. sesamum, soybean.sunflower, safflower. cottonseed.nigerseed and coconut. Castcrseedand linseed arc the two most impor-rant nonedible oil seeds. In addition,there arc several minor. nonconven-tional oilseeds of tree origin, e.g ..Deem, sal, karanja, kokum. mangokernel and mahua. Apart fromoilseeds. rice bran is emerging as anImportant source of oil for edible aswell as for nonedible applications.Also, in the past few years, indigenouspalm oil has started appearing in themarket in small quantities, as a resultof the large-scale oil palm plantationsin various pans of the country.
Despite the large area underoilseed cullivation and the widerange of varieties available, India's
Indiais a vast and ancient countryhaving a wide range of oilseedvarieties that are exploited com-
mercially. This paper presents anoverview of vegetable oil wealth ofIndia covering production of oilseeds
and oils, the present status concerningthe demand and supply of oils, vanes-pati and margarine, and exports. Thefuture potential also is discussed.
Oilseeds occupy a very importantposition in the Indian agriculturaleconomy. After food grains, oilseedsare the second-largest crop in thecountry. Oil seeds are cultivated onabout 25 million hectares of landwhich is about 10% of India's totalcultivated area. In this regard, Indiaoccupies second position in the world,after the United States, which hasmore than 29 million hectares underoilseeds cultivation. India is one of theworld's leading producers of cuseeds.producing over 10% of the world'stotal output. This ancient fertile coun-try perhaps has the largest number ofcommercial oilseed varieties. In all.there are nine edible and two nonedi-
TIU __ ,. ... 01".JIIIIORM",~hM"lfIQ__ ,...,,..4U •.:'It I r, .. "..., 21waUbll .... _'" , .... _ ..19954 us D. n •• "~.e"""""." ;' .rf.".."1_ .,....,,_ ..._--- _1aIIQ~.,...,,,.A "'51 ........ 21..---
INFORM, \ot)I, 4. no. 9 (September 1993)
J043
Table 1Malor producing states for selected ollseeds In India
Bihar, West BengalKerala, Kamataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, OrissaMaharashtra. Gujarat, Kamataka. Punjab, Madhya. Pradesh,Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan. Haryana
Muslard/Rapeseed
Sunflower
SafflowerNigerSoybeanCottonseedLinseed
CoconutCottonseed
Oil-bearing materialsThe available sources of vegetableoils, i.e., oil-bearing materials, inIndia may be categorized as follows:(a) perennial oilseeds, such as coconutand oil palm, (b) annual oilseeds, suchas groundnut, mustard/rapeseed, sesa-mum. sunflower, safflower. niger, soy-bean. castor and linseed. (c) minor
vegetable oil production has beenvery low compared to that of theUnited States, the world's leadingoils and fats producer. India'soil seeds production has increasedsubstantially during the past fewyears and is likely to be over 21 mil-lion metric tons (MT) duringJ992-J993.
Table 2Area, production and yield of nine major ollseeds In India
Year A". Production Yield(million ha) (million MT) (kg/h.)
(Source.: Dir-ec,onucof Economic. and SlaliSliCi. Ministry of Agnoul,u",: Th~ &om>mlcSun"t'J and ne"'~.".,...,
oilseeds, such as sal, neem. karanja.mahua, pisa, etc., which are tree-borneoi1seeds and Cd) by-products, such asrice bran and cottonseed. Oil cakesobtained from expellers are subjectedto solvent extraction to obtain theresidual oil. Such expeller oiJcakesmay be included in the by-productscategory.
The cultivation of major oilseeds isspread allover India. Table Igives thelist of India's major oilseed-producingstates: the total area under cultivation,production and yield of nine majoroilseeds from 1981-82 onward isshown in Table 2. It is evident thatIndian cilseeds production remainedalmost static during the period from1981-82 to 1987-88, at about 10--13million MT annually. The yieldremained at about 600 kilograms perhectare, despite the continuouslyincreasing area under cultivation.However, since 1988-89, the produc-tion and yield of oilseeds haveincreased significantly. This isbecause of the good monsoon seasonsthat occurred and an increase in thearea under cultivation. During the past4-5 years, farmers have cultivatedmore oilseeds because of a better pricefor oilseeds crops. However, eventoday, average oilseed yields in Indiaare very low as compared to averageyields obtained elsewhere in theworld. This is mainly due to theuncertainty of monsoon rains, varyingclimatic conditions in various parts ofIndia and poor, suboptimal crop man-agement practices. Irrigation foroilseeds is relatively low as comparedto other crops. About 16-18% ofoilseeds acreage is irrigated while therest is rain-fed; the irrigated areas forwheat. rice, sugarcane and cotton are75, 40, 82 and 25%, respectively. Inseveral regions, it has been observedthat fanners shift from cilseeds tocash crops such as sugarcane whentheir land comes under irrigation.
The production of individual majoroilseeds during the past few years inIndia, according to government esn-mates, is given in Table 3. It will beworthwhile to examine the changes inproduction of some important oilseedsduring recent years. Groundnut is themost important oilseed. Groundnutand mustard/rapeseed usually account
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Table 3 in 1984-85. In 1992-93. it is expect-Production of Individual ollseeds (1988-1989 to 1992-1993; million MT) ed to reach 3 million MT, a tenfold
increase in eight years. Today, soy-Oilseed ....... 9 1989-90 1990-9. 1991-9211 1992-9]11 bean is cultivated on 3 million
hectares of land. Trends in soybeanGroundnut 9.66 8.10 7.51 7.07 7.80 area, production and yield are givenMustard! in Table 4. India's soybean yield at
Rapeseed 4.38 4.12 5.23 5.84 5.80 800 kg/ha is below the world aver-Soybean US 1.80 2.60 2.28 2.95 age. 1.88 MT per hectare. SeveralSunflower 0.37 0.63 0.87 1.18 1.18 countries have reported yields ofSesamum 0.68 0.74 0.84 0.67 0.69 more than 2.5 MT/ha, viz., Italy 2.91.Safflower 0.44 0.49 0.32 0.20 0.40Niger 0.18 0.19 0.19 0.16 0.19 Canada 2.63 and Greece 2.58 MTlha.Cesrorseed 0.41 0.52 0.72 0.58 0.69 Thus, significant potential exists toLinseed 0.36 0.33 0.33 0.30 0.30 increase the yield in India. In theTotal 18.03 16.92 18.61 18.28 20.00 currenl year 1992-93, India's soy-
bean yield is likely to reach 1,000iIII"l'heIIe figum 1ft lO"t"__ alinwet; industty a6nwcs an: maIJinallyhia/>er II. 19.5millionMT ror kglha. According to industry esti-1991_1992ond 21.2milli"" MT for1992-1993. mates, India has the potential to use(.s..-:e: TIw ~ SIII'>Y)') nearly 7 million hectares of land for
soybean production by the year200 I, or a potential to produce morethan 10 million MT of soybeans at amoderate yield of 1.5 MT/ha. This
for more than two-thirds of total developed countries, India's total output will be able to give about 1.7oil seeds production. However, from mustard/rapeseed production could million MT of soybean oil. Slowly1988-89 to 1991-92, groundnut pro- reach 20 million MT annually. but steadily, soybean is emerging asduction declined, according to govern- Recently, the Indian Agricultural a promising commercial oilseed cropment statistics. but it has increased to Research Institute (lARI), New Delhi, for India.some extent during the current year has succeeded through biotechnology The recent spun in production of(1992-93). Industry estimates are in developing a new mustard variety sunflower seed is very Impressive.slightly higher than the government that yields 3Q...4O%more oil from the Sunflower seed production was aboutestimates shown in Table 3. same area of land than do convention- 200,000 MT/year a decade ago. It was
Acreage of India's second-largest al varieties. at 600.000 MT in 1989-90 and thenoilseed crop. mustard/rapeseed, Soybean is another Important climbed '0 1.2 million MT ;nincreased from 3.72 million hectares oilseed crop which has shown size- 1991-92, according to trade estimates.in 1986-87105.5 million hectares by able increase in production during Thus, sunflower production doubled1990-91. and then to over 6 million the past decade. Soybean productionhectares for 1991-92. According to totaled approximately 300.000 MT (continued on page /046)industry estimates, mustard/rapeseedproduction increased from 2.6 millionMT in 1986-87 to 5.32 million MT in1990-91, and then to about 6.5 mil- Table 4lion MT in 1991-92; Table 3 shows Area, production and yield of soybeen In Indiagovernment estimates of mustard/rapeseed production. which are lower. Year A rea Production YieldDuring 1992-93. another bumper crop (000 Ha) (000 MT) (kglha)is expected. Despite the impressive
1987-88 1.543 898 582figures for total production. India'syield of mustard/rapeseed is relatively 1988-89 1.672 1.501 898
1989-90 2.150 1.817 845low (1,000 kglha) compared to that in 1990-91 2.400 2.333 972developed countries (3.600 kglha). 1991-92 2,647 2.100 793Yields as high as 2.500 kg/ha have 1992-93° 3,000 3.000 1.000been reported in isolated instances inIndia's northern states. The theoretical Growlh nne. % per year from 1981-88 10 1992-93:potential yield in India has been esn- 14.2 27.3 11.4
mated at 3,000 kg/ha. This shows °lndustry estimatesthere is significant potential forimprovement of yields in India. If (Soura-: n." u-uc n-.. ald nnrs ",poN)
India'S yields could match those in the
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llIble 5Sunflower: area, production lind yield
Table 6Production estimates of coconutsIn India (million nuts)
Y.., A". Production Yield(000 Ha) (000 MT) (kglha) y", Production
in just two years; during 1992-93.another bumper crop of about 1.5 mil-lion MT is expected. This sudden risein the sunflower production is attribut-ed to an increase in the area under cul-tivation. Many farmers in Punjab andHaryana states have started cultivatingsunflower instead of wheat due to bet-ter returns from sunflower. An acre ofwheat is worth 3,000 rupees (Rs.) to afarmer. but an acre of sunflower gives10,000 Rs. Also the sunflower croprequires a lower input cost and it takesonly three months to mature. Trendsin sunflower area, production andyield are shown in Table 5. As withother oitseeds, there also is a largepotential for improving sunfloweryield. The national average yield forsunflower is about 725 kg/ha. Hybridvarieties yielding 1,500 kglha havebeen introduced recently. However.research trials have shown that yieldsas high as 3,979 kglha under irrigatedconditions and 2,927 kglha under rain-fed conditions can be obtained.
It must be noted that Indianoilseeds production received a signifi-cant boost when the governmentsharply increased support prices aboutfive years ago. These higher pricesresulted in the increase in the areaplanted to oilseeds. In 1988-89, afterthe government instituted a 40%increase in oilseed procurementprices, production increased by nearly50%. Consistently good perfonnance
of monsoon rains, improved farmingtechniques and use of higher-yieldingvarieties have helped India approachself-sufficiency in oilseeds and veg-etable oils.
Apan from the major oilseeds dis-cussed above, oil-bearing crops suchas coconut and rice bran also haveshown consistently increasing outputduring the past few years. Coconutwas accorded "oilseed" status in 1991.Therefore. the government has estab-lished support prices for copra. Thisstatus entitles coconut to variousdevelopmental grants from differentgovernment agencies for increasingthe output of coconut. India is thethird-largest producer of coconut inthe world, after the Philippines andIndonesia. Estimates of Indiancoconut production during the pastfew years are shown in Table 6. Therewas a significant jump in coconut pro-duction in 1989-90. In 1992-93, pnrduction is expected to reach a record10 billion nuts. In India. coconuts areused directly for food applications aswell as for religious purposes. TheIndian coconut consumption patternindicates that 56% of the production isused for domestic and religious pur-poses. 35% for coconut oil produc-tion. 7% for eating copra and 2% formaking coconut powder. There isgood potential for increasing the pro-duction of coconut and India is poten-tially capable of exporting coconut oil.
The government has started severaldevelopment and promotion programsin several states for this purpose.
Rice bran is a by-product of therice milling industry. For several tea-sons. all the available rice bran is notutilized for oil extraction: (a) low sta-bility of bran and wastage of bran dueto primitive rice milling machinery.(b) unavailability of bran-stabilizingequipment near rice mills, (c) lack oftransportation facilities to supply theunstable bran 10 distant extractionplants. (d) insufficient capacity to pro-cess all the available bran quickly.Due to these reasons, significant quan-tities of rice bran are used as animaland poultry feed.
As mentioned earlier, there are anumber of nonconventional tree-bornecilseeds in India. More than 200 dif-ferent tree-borne cilseeds having morethan 10% oil content have been identi-fied. Of these. about a dozen speciesare being exploited for oil extractionto some extent. The yield of minoroilseeds varies from tree to tree andyear to year. The technological prob-lems associated with the processing ofseveral minor oilseeds and oils havegenerally been resolved. and the orga-nized oilseed processing sector hasstarted using these oils for variousapplications. Table 7 lists these minoroilseeds and their major producingstates.
In addition 10 the minor oilseeds
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Table 7cultivation during the Eighth Five-
Important minor ollseeds and major producing states Year Plan (1992-97). A total area of575.000 ha has been identified for oil
Oilseed Major producing stales palm cultivation in the states of Ker-ala, Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh.
Sal (Sharto robusra) Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar Orissa, Assam, West Bengal, Kamala-Neem (Azadirachta indica) Andhra Pradesh, Gujaral. Madhya Pradesh. ka. Maharashtra. Goa and Gujarat. In
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karoalaka, several places, cultivation is in fullUUM Pradesh swing. The present target is to bring
Kanmja (Pof/gamio gfabra) Andhra PI1Idesh,Tamil Nadu, Kamataka an area of 250,000 hectares under oilMabua (MadhukiJ tongi/olia) Uttar Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh, Gujaral. palm cultivation. This planting is
Andhra Pradesh expected to yield about one millionKusum (Schftichtra trijugo) Bihar, OrissaKokum (Garcinia indica) Mahamshtra, Goa MT of palm oil by the end of this cen-Rubberseed (H~l'~a brasili~nsisJ Kerala tury. Oil palm seeds are being import-Pinnai/Undi (CalophJflum indophJllum) Kcrala ed from Indonesia and Costa Rica toKhakan/Pilu (Sal"adora o/~oid~s) Mahamshtra, Gujaral the tune of 4,000.000 seeds per year.Mangokemcl (Mangifua indica) Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh. Maharashlnl. Malaysia has stopped supplying seedsTung (A/~UTititsfordiiJ Himachal Pradesh to India. The Central Planting CropPisa (Actinodophn~hook.~riJ Kamataka, Maharashlnl. Research Institute in India producesMaroti/Kavalhi(HJdnocarpus.....ightianoi) Kerala about 4.000,000 hybrid oil palm seedsNahor(Mtsua/una) Tamil Nadu. Kerala, Andaman, Aswn annually. The Regional Research Lab-Dhupa (VO/trit indica) Kamataka, Kerala oratory (RRL), in Thiruvananthapu-(SoutI;e: J~ ojQil T""~i.s· ..u.ociau... oj l..JiD. July/Seplmlbc1980) ram, Kerala, has developed and per-
fected a pilot-scale palm oil extractionplant. The first such commercial planthas been commissioned for Andhra
listed in Table 7. there are several plantations. Oil palm gives the highest Pradesh Cooperative Oilseeds Grow-other unusual oil seeds which have yield of oil per hectare of land. There- ers Federation in Andhra Pradesh.become or are becoming commercial- fore, it can playa very important role Presently. the production of fresh fruitIy important. They are: watermelon in augmenting the vegetable oil sup- bunches of oil palm in India is aboutseed {Cimdlus vulgaris); tumba seed ply in India. In view of this, the gcv- 23,000 MT. However. the production(C. colosynthis); wild castor (Jat- ernment has launched a massiveropha curcas): ambadi seed (Hibiscus development program for oil palm (conlinu~d onpag~ 1049)
cannabinus and H. sabdariffaj; teaseed (Thea sasanqua); gokhru (Xan-thiun slrumarium); tobacco seed; andjute seed. TableS
The central government venture Potential 01 minor ollseedsknown as Tribal Cooperative Market-ing Development Federation of India Oilseed Seedlkernel 011yield 011potentia)Ltd. (TRIFED) is making special (000 MT) (%) (000 MT)efforts to increase the utilization of
S~ .5,504.0 12..5 688.0minor oilseeds. Although the exact Mahua 490.0 3.5.0 171..5production figures of these minor Neem 418.0 20.0 83.6oilseed are not available, TRlFED has Mangokemel 000.0 8.0 48.0estimated the potential of the impor- Karanja 111.0 27.0 30.0tant minor oilseeds (Table 8). Kusum 90.0 33.0 29.7Kh"'~ 46.0 33.0 1.5.2New oil-bearing materials Pinnai/Undi 18.6 60.0 11.2Although India has its native oil-bear- Pisa 12.0 48.0 5.8ing materials, two foreign oil-bearing Rubberseed 30.0 18..5 5.smaterials have been introduced-soy- Ohupa 30.0 17.0 5.1
bean and oil palm. Of these, soybean Kokum 12..5 40.0 5.0Maroti/Kavalhi 12.0 33.0 4.0
has made significant contributions Nahor 5.7 40.0 2.3during the past decade and is stillforging ahead, as described earlier. Total 7,379.8 - 1,105.0Efforts 10 introduce oil palm startedseveral years ago. following the sue- (Sc!Iuu: 1llIFED)
cess of the Malaysian and Indonesian
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Tab\e 9Production of vegetable oils In India(000 MT)
of palm oil is about 2,000-3,000 MT.If all the identified 575,000 ha of landwere cultivated with oil palm, Indiacould become a major exporter ofpalm oil. Several joint ventures arelaking shape for utilization of largequantities of palm oil for variousapplications.
Vegetable oilsBecause of the vast variety of oilseedsavailable and processed in India, sev-eral oils of differing characteristics areobtained that can be used for variousapplications-edible as well as noned-ible. Castor and linseed are usedexclusively for nonedible applicationssuch as paints and varnishes. Othernonedible oils. such as neem. are usedmainly for mnking soap.
In India. vegetable oils are market-ed in various forms:
• Filtered oils or unprocessedoils-Mainly groundnut, mustard andrapeseed oils are marketed in thisform. They are produced by ghani(rotating expeller using animal power)or mechanical expellers and used as acooking medium. Coconut oil also isused without processing. mainly insouth India.
• Refined vegetable oils-Thesevegetable oils are refined, bleachedand deodorized. Groundnut,mustard/rapeseed, cottonseed. sun-flower, safflower and rice bran oils aremarketed as refined oils. These areused for cooking.
• venaspan or partially hydrogenat-ed oils-Vanaspati is similar to short-ening. Its physical appearance is verysimilar to ghee (butterfat). Specificstandards have been set for vanaspati.It contains less expensive vegetableoils such as soybean and rice branoils. It is mandatory to use sesame oilat a level of 5% to prevent adulter-ation of ghee (butterfat) by vanespati.Vanaspati is used as a cooking medi-um, especially for making sweets.
• Margarines-These productsreplace butler as a spread and in cakemaking. Small quantities «1000 MT)of margarines are produced and con-sumed in India. Several partiallyhydrogenated. cheaper vegetable oilsare used for making margarines.
• Industrial oils-All the vegetableoils which do not conform to therequirements for edible applicationsare used for industrial applicationssuch as fatty acids and glycerine. Asmentioned earlier, castor and linseedoils are used exclusively for industrialapplications. Rice bran and karanjaoils are used for lubricating and coat-ing applications. Neem and other oilsare used for soaps after splitting intofatty acids and glycerine.
• Industrial hardened oils-Theseare partially or fully hydrogenatedvegetable oils made to get specificproperties, depending on their finalapplications, e.g., soaps. greases.
Trends in the production of veg-etable oils in India are shown in Table9, which covers nine major oils andtwo nonedible oils.
The production of oils fluctuatedsignificantly during 1981-82 and1985-86. However. since 1986-87.vegetable oil production has increasedsteadily from 3.22 million MT and isexpected to be 6.56 million MT dur-ing the current year (more than doublethe production in 1986-87). The over-all growth rate for vegetable oil during1986-87 to 1992-93 was 12.6%.
The estimated production of veg-etable oils from various sources for
1992-93 is given in Table 10.From this data it is evident that
groundnut and mustard/rapeseed oilshave dominated the market. They willcontinue to dominate because con-sumers prefer them. These two oilshold more than two-thirds share of themarket.
Groundrun and mustard/rapeseedare traditional major oils. It is interest-ing to note that the other sources, i.e.,sunflower, soybean, rice bran and, sig-nificantly, coconut, have registeredsteady growth during recent years.
Coconut oil has shown an impres-sive increase over 1991-92 produc-tion. The production trend in copra,and therefore coconut oil, has beenquite erratic historically. However, ithas been steadily increasing duringthe past four decades. Coconut oilproduction was stagnant at about200,000 MT until the mid-1980s.During the last three years it hasincreased significantly. In 1990-92.
Table 11 edible oil in India and commands a will help to stabilize its domestic priceProduction at soybean all and meal premium exceeding 100% over most and also encourage its utilization forIn India edible oils in the country. The price of industrial applications along with
coconut oil in the domestic market is palm and palm kernels oils.Year Production (000 MT) almost double the price in the world
market. The bumper production this Demand and supplyMeal Oil year may help 10 reduce the price in Since the monsoon season is not con-
the domestic market. sistenr. the performance of the output1987-88 415.14 90.79 In the case of soybean and rice of oilseed (as other crops in rain-fed1988-89 838.63 169.79 bran, special sustained effort on the regions) cannot be accurately forecast.1989-90 1,037.16 212.58 pan of the Soybean Processors Asso- This uncertainty in oilseed production1990-91 1,625.91 326.291991-92 1.431.48 295.51 ciation (SOPA) and The Solvent makes the vegetable oil supply unpre-
Extractors Association of India bas dictable as well.(Source: Soybean Processor A"""iarion) given good results. Government However, edible oil demand is
incentives have contributed signifi- directly related to population as wellcantly. The details of soybean crush as to the income of the consumer.and production of soybean meal and The annual per capita consumptionoil during the past few years are given of oils and fats in India is estimated
copra production rose to 350.000 MT in Table II. More soybeans are being to be about 7 kg. However, Ibis con-while coconut oil production was processed 10 obtain good quality oil sumptlcn is not uniform throughout220.000 MT. During 1991-92, copra and meal. Good export prices for soy- the nation. It is believed that the topproduction rose to 400,000 MT. and bean meal have been a driving force elite and upper middle classes. whichcoconut oil production rose to 230,000 for increased soybean production. each constitutes about 25% of IheMT. The estimates of coconut oil pro- The case of rice bran processing is population, average an annual perduction for 1992-93 indicate a quan- similar. Rice bran may have started capita consumption of about 20 kg.tum jump over last year. This year the later than soybean, but now it is com- whereas the lowest 50% populationcopra production is expected 10 be peting with soybean. Many processing has an annual consumption of lessabout 550.000 MT while that of plants are being installed in the coastal than 3 kg. This vast difference iscoconut oil is forecast at 310.000 MT. regions of India to process rice bran indicative of the wide gap between
Apart from the good season, the exclusively. The production statistics the rich and poor in the country. It ismajor factor spurring increased pro- for edible- and nonedible-grade rice known that the upper 5% of the Indi-duction of coconut oil is its high price bran oil are shown in Table 12. Total an population consumes 40% of allin domestic markets. II is the costliest production of rice bran oil surpassed the available vegetable oils. Actual
that of soybean a few years ago, butthe output of edible-quality rice branoil is still only about half that of soy-
Table 12bean oil. This is attributed mainly to
Table 13inadequate capacity to process all theProduction of rice bran 011In India available fresh rice bran. Imports of edible oils In India(000 MT) Considering India's large rice pro- Year Quantity ValueYear Edible Nonedible Tolal ducuon (approximately 75 million (000 MT) (Rs. billion)
MT), if all available rice bran were198t--82 10 140 ISO processed, about one million MT of 1981--82 1,023 4.981982--83 26 126 152 rice bran oil could be produced. This 1982--83 980 4.181983-84 23 160 183 would augment the vegetable oil sup- 1983-84 1,409 ',461984-85 19 181 200 ply in India significantly. 19114-85 1,585 13.091985-M 33 185 218 Considering this overall scenario. 198>-06 1,080 7,681986-81 93 159 278 the following impression emerges: 1986-07 1.301 5.261981--88 125 176 301 Groundnut and mustard/rapeseed will 1987--88 1,961 9.691988--89 130 185 315 remain the dominant oilseeds for a 1988--89 1.166 7691989-90 141 209 350 long time to come. Sunflower, soy- 1989-90 290 1.621990-91 160 210 370 1990-91 600 3,061991-92 170 220 390 bean and rice bran oils will become 1991-92 180 1.041992-930 180 240 400 quite significant during the next five
years. Palm oil will become a major (Sout<:Q, ocw ............ <Ji India. TM ~ SIIfWT.o Indouuy ,...;"...~ player in the long run. about 10 years RCXfY<l BanI< of India Rq><WI01'1 eu.m..:y ond
from now. To a lesser extent, the I"mMOo; Cen~ For MoniI<lrinJ Indian Economy; &.(Source: l'ho SoIv<!nI ~ ApociaIicn of Ind ..
effons to promote coconut plantations roM: Ollliooll. J""" 1992; ond 011$'" F., Rrri ......and newJ rtpOOI)
will payoff in the long run. TheApril 1992)
increased availability of coconut oil
INFORM. Vol. 4. rIO. Q (September 1993)
1051
calculations based on dietary surveyshave shown that average daily dietsin all parts of India contain about 25g of invisible fat. High-incomegroups living in cities consume a dietthat includes 40 g of invisible fat aday and use another 50 g or more ofcooking oil per capita.
To satisfy the demand, vegetableoils imports were initiated during the19805 (Table 13). However, from1989-90 onward, vegetable oilimports have declined significantly.The initial drop in imports, incidental-ly, did not reflect a drop in demand,bUI was due to a foreign exchange cri-sis faced by the government of India.Since 1990, imports have decreased asthe domestic production of oils hasbeen increasing. During the currentyear, vegetable oil imports may not berequired.
The vegetable oil demand/supplysituation for 1992-93 indicates anestimated demand of 6.98 million MTand a supply of 7.45 million MT. Thusfor the current year, India may have asurplus of 465,000 MT of vegetableoils which could be exported. Demandfor edible use has been estimated at 7kg per capita for a population of 870million, which works out to be 6.1million MT. The industrial applica-tions include soaps. paints, etc.
It has been suggested that anyincrease in the supply of edible oilswill be mel by increased demand:whatever the quantity of oils pro-duced, all will be consumed by theconsumers. In view of this, it may bepossible that the surplus available inthe current year actually will be con-sumed in the domestic marketbecause of the steep fall in vegetableoil prices. This may effectivelyreduce the gap between the per capi-ta consumption figures for the richand poor classes.
In India, blending of vegetable oilshas not been allowed except forvanaspati. But in 1992, the NationalDairy Development Board (NDDB)was given the green light to market ablended vegetable oil (a mixture ofgroundnut oil and imported palm oilin the ratio of 33:67). This blend hasbeen accepted by consumers who usu-ally prefer groundnut oil. Now, thereare plans to extend the arrangement to
coconut oil and palm olein for thebenefit of consumers who usually pre-fer coconut oil.
Vanaspati and margarinevanaspati, as mentioned earlier, is apartially hydrogenated fat with spe-cific characteristics. It is usually ablend of several, partially hydro-genated vegetable oils. The majoroils used for venespeu are colton-seed, soybean, rice bran, sunflower,safflower, solvent-extracted mus-tard/rapeseed, mahua, maize,nigerseed and sal. Most of these arencnconvemional oils. Almost 70% ofthe available couonseed oil and 80%of lite available soybean oil are con-sumed in the manufacture of vanes-patl. No other country in the worlduses a blend of such a heterogeneousvariety of oils to produce a singleproduct which is used as a cookingmedium. The use of nonconventionaloils for making vanaspati hasincreased in recent years. In 1930,when vanaspatl production started, itwas made entirely from groundnutoil. In 1991-92, the industry is esti-mated to have consumed about750,()()()....800,OOOMT of nonconven-tional vegetable oils. This hasenabled the country to reduce itsdependence on imported vegetableoils. By government regulation.sesame oil is added at a 5% level tovanaspari and margarine stock to pre-vent adulteration of ghee by van as-pari. Presently, there are 102 vanes-pari manufacturing units with a totalcapacity of about two million MT peryear. However, because of severalreasons, such as improper policy andrestrictions on vegetable oil usage,capacity utilization is only about40%. Even though several units arereported to be closed. new units arebeing installed because of deregula-tion of the industry and fiscal advan-tages granted by some state govern-ments.
vanaspatl was quite popular untilthe 19705: but after the mid-1970s.the financially well-off and educatedclasses started shifting to refinedoils, as coronary atherosclerosisbecame a serious health concern.According to a study conducted bythe National Council of Applied
Economic Research (NCEAR), ruralhouseholds consume as much as54% of {he vanaspatl. Furthermore.69% of the vanaspati consumption isby households whose monthly aver-age income is below 750 Rs., whichindicates that the poorer sections oflite population account for more {hantwo-thirds of the venaspen consump-tion. The production of vanaspat!and margarine in India in the pastyears is given in Table 14. The targetof vanaspati production for 1992-93is 1.3 million MT. The planningcommission has estimated thedemand to reach 2 million MT. How-ever, because of the absence ofnational policies. the poor man'sghee is not reaching his mouth.
Margarine table spreads are OOtverypopular in India today. This is evidentfrom the low production levels. Thegovernment has put restrictions on litecoloring and flavoring of margarines.Therefore. is seems unlikely that manu-facturers will produce consumer packs,even after a reduction in excise dutyproposed in the recent federal budget.Since margarine is less costly than but-ter. it has great market potential. provid-ed it does not have unreasonablerestrictions. In developing countriessuch as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and
(Soun:e: The Solvem Exuactors Association of Indi. and The Economic Times)
Malaysia, the demand for margarine isstrong and growing. A similar trend canbe expected in India. The increase inmargarine consumption need not neces-sarily affect the butter market in India.Recently, cake margarine has gainedsome popularity in India. The mar-garine statistics in Table 14 are only forthe organized sector. Significant quanti-ties are being produced in the unorga-nized sector and supplied mainly 10hotels.
The NODS is putting up a mar-garine plant in Gujarat. With its excel-lent marketing expertise, NODS willbe able !O make margarines becomequite popular in India. With theincreased availability of vegetable oilsin India, margarines are potentialexport items.
ExportsIndia exports oil meals (cakes),oilseeds and minor oils. During thepast 5--6 years, the export of theseitems has increased to a great extent.There are two categories of countriesto which these are exported -rupeecurrency area (RCA), where they aresold in rupees, and general currencyarea (GGA), where they are sold inhard currency. However, castor oil andits derivatives are major export itemsby themselves.
Oilseeds such as nigerseed, sesa-mum, groundnut and safflower areexported. Recently, export of mus-tard/rapeseed also has been allowed.A few minor oils also are exported.The oilcakes being exported mainlyinclude soybean, groundnut, cotton-
Table 16Exports of soybean meal
"DIble 17Exports of castor 011
Quantity(000 MT)
y.., Value(rupee billion)
1987-881988-891989-901990-911991-92
365.13756.38937.94
1.341.701.359.40
Growth rare, % per year 38.9(Source: Soybean I'rocess<n Associ.,ion)
Value(rupee billion)
1.002.993.644.706.68
1987-881988-891989-901990-911991-92
seed, rice bran, mustard/rapeseed,sunflower and sal seed extractions.
The details of exports of oil meals,oilseeds and minor oils are given inTable 15.
Recently. the export target for1992-93 oil seeds and products hasbeen revised to 13.5 billion Rs., main-ly because of increased productionand unification of exchange rates forthe rupee currency. Southeast Asia isemerging as a major market for Indiancilcakes. Soybean meal exports haveincreased significantly over the pastfew years (Table l6). The export ofcastor oil requires a special mention,since India is a major exporter of cas-tor oil (Table 17). During the currentyear, another bumper crop of castorseed is expected and therefore, theexports of large quantities of castor oilare expected to continue.
ConclusionFrom the statistics and discussionpresented here. it is certain that, atleast for the present time, the cilseedsand oils situation in India is quite sat-isfactory. However, future stabilitywill depend on favorable monsoonseasons. There is a good potential forexport of oilseeds, meals and minoroils. Considering the significantwealth of oilseed varieties in India,self-sufficiency can be maintained byexploiting all the oil-bearing materi-als properly to the fuUest extent pos-sible. In the long run, India has thepotential to become a leadingexporter of oil seeds and vegetableoils in the world. •
Quantity(MT)
40,60047,000
126,467108,129108,000
0.630.751.921.661.65
(Sourte: ~P<'f' f'romotion Council ond neWI "'porta)
