ISLAMABAD: The federal government has planned to increase the annual edible oil production u over the next 10 years in an effort to take the country towards self-sufficiency in food commodities.
According to sources, the federal government has decided to incentivize and substantially increase the local cultivation of sunflower and canola in response to the inflating import bill for edible oil.
At present, the country produces just 0.745 million tons of edible oil annually, which is only 8% of the total demand of over 5 million tons.
The import bill for edible oil is expected to reach $11 billion by 2030, and it has been decided to introduce short, medium, and long-term plans to curb edible oil imports and increase local production to meet the demand.
Under the proposed plan, the cultivation of sunflower and canola will be increased from 150,000 to 600,000 acres, which will help the country to meet 60 percent of its local demand and reduce the import bill
For the ongoing FY23, sunflower and canola will be cultivated on 600,000 acres, and according to the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, incentives will be provided to farmers in this regard.
This increase in local production is expected to save the country over $7 billion annually.
Leave a Comment