SEA voices concern over Vegetable Oil Industry

Vijayawada, Feb 4 (UNI) The Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) today expressed its concern about the Vegetable Oil Industry and India's Oilseed Yields, which were around 900 kgs and lowest per hectare.

Talking to newspersons here, SEA President Ashok Sethia and Executive Director B V Mehta said ''It is essential to encourage oilseed cultivation in irrigated areas with technical inputs at grassroots level to improve the yield, as well as total production of oilseeds, aiming at production of 100 lakh tonnes each of groundnut, soybean and rapeseed in the next five years''.

They urged the Centre to create an 'Oilseeds Development Fund' to increase the local production of oilseeds on the lines of sugar development fund. In case, creation of such fund was not possible, the Government should allocate larger funds to promote oilseeds production in the country on a larger scale to reduce the dependency on import of edible oils, they added.

Mr Sethia said the palm is a rich source of vegetable oil in the world and the palm plantation gives the highest yield of 3.5 to 4.0 tonnes of vegetable oil per hectare, whereas even the best high-oil -content oilseeds like groundnut or rapesed give only 350-400 kg of oil per hectare.

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