Ban on bulk export of edible oils lifted

Earlier, there was restriction on the bulk export of these edible oils and it was only permitted in branded consumer pack of 5 kg. “Export of groundnut oil, sesame oil, soya bean oil, and maize (corn) oil in bulk, irrespective of any pack size, has been exempted from the prohibition on export of edible oils,” said a Commerce Ministry notification. 

Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council welcomed the move saying it would help both farmers and exporters. “Farmers failed to get fair deal for produce of oilseeds especially groundnut and sesame due to poor procurement by the government and cap on its export in bulk quantity. The move will surely help farmers and exporters as they will get fair price,” said its chairman Sanjiv Sawla. 

He added that the move will provide Indian exporters level playing field in the global market since other competing countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, China, Myanmar, Bangladesh do not have any restriction of bulk packing. According to the IOPEC data, India produces about 5 million tonnes of groundnut oil, out of which just 10 per cent is exported. 

The agriculture ministry had put an estimate on the groundnut production this year at 8.47 mn tonnes, which will be up from last year’s 6.73 mn tonnes. Also, the oilseed production for this year is pegged at 33.6 mn tonnes as against last year’s 25.25 mn tonnes. The industry believes permitting bulk export of sesame seed oil would create access in the Far East market for India.