MUMBAI, Reuters India on Thursday approved a 101 billion rupee 1.2 billion programme to double edible oil production in the country within seven years, aiming to reduce dependence on costlier imports, the government said in a statement.

The world39;s largest importer of edible oils, India currently fulfils nearly twothirds of its demand through overseas purchases of palm oil, soyoil, and sunflower oil, primarily from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.

Under the programme, oilseed productivity will be increased by promoting highyielding, highoil content varieties and expanding cultivation. Advanced technologies like genome editing will be used to develop superior seeds, the statement said.

The programme aims to increase edible oil production from the current 12.7 million metric tons to 25.45 million tons by 203031, fulfilling around 72 of the country39;s projected domestic requirement.

The country39;s edible oil import bill surged to 15 billion in 202324 from 2.2 billion in 200607. During the same period, India39;s edible oil imports rose to 15.5 million metric tons from 4.37 million tons.

Last month, India raised the basic import tax on crude and refined edible oils by 20 percentage points to help protect farmers struggling with lower oilseed prices.

1 83.9960 Indian rupees

Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; editing by David Evans

Source Reuters