Domestic Sunflower Production Boost by the Government

The area under sunflower cultivation declined to 1.94 million hectares between 2005 and 2010, according to an official, it is mainly grown in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh at only 0.2 mh, which was earlier grown in Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

The government is proposing measures to increase the area under sunflower cultivation to reduce dependence on edible oil imports, said an agriculture ministry official.

Official said, in 1993-94 the Sunflower production, was grown on 2.66 million hectares (mh), will be revived by supplying quality seeds, increasing productivity through the introduction of technology, and promoting processing and value addition. He added that there is scope for expansion of sunflower cultivation in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

“This is what we have been telling the government to promote the cultivation of oilseeds in the country itself,” president of Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), Atul Chaturvedi said. Southern states once produced at least one million tonnes of sunflower seeds, he said.

Sources said, “At present, India produces about 45 percent of its domestic edible oil consumption. Other oils responsible for domestic production include soybean (24 percent) and groundnut (7 percent). Crude palm and soybean oils are mainly imported from Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina and Brazil, accounting for 62 percent and 21 percent of total edible oil imports respectively.”

Due to the country’s excessive dependence on imports, edible oil imports are expected to be around $ 1.5 million in 2021-22 and India imports 13 million tonnes of edible oil every year, sources said.

It added that India is dependent on Ukraine for sunflower oil, which accounts for 15 percent of edible oil imports as Ukraine is the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, accounting for about 46 percent of global sunflower and sunflower oil production.

Related posts:

Chinese Sunflower Seeds: Prices Are Expected to Drop Russian Sunflower Oil: Low Export Demand Leads to Falling Prices Oil Seeds Prices In Ukraine Have Risen Significantly. EU Oilseeds: The EU has purchased more than 16.7 million tonnes of oilseeds Chinese Sunflower kernel: Production cuts caused prices to rise Sunflower Seed: The export dilemma still exist About 2 million tons of sunflower seeds expected for crop 2021 Spring sowing 2021 in Ukraine is coming to the end.