India is about to launch a $1.48 billion project to increase its own production of oilseeds and make the country self-sufficient in edible oil. The news was announced on Monday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India is the world’s largest importer of vegetable oil and spends an average of $8.5-10 billion a year on edible oil imports.
The country produces less than half of the approximately 24 million tonnes of edible oil it consumes each year.
It imports the rest, buying palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, soya oil from Brazil and Argentina, and sunflower oil mainly from Russia and the Ukraine.
Translation by Giles Foster