India's First Integrated Oil Palm Processing Unit in Arunachal Pradesh | 22 Mar 2024
The inaugural commercial operations of India's premier integrated Oil Palm Processing Unit, established by 3F Oil Palm (one of the nation's leading Oil Palm development enterprises), commenced recently. This factory is located in Roing within the lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Despite significant potential, India currently struggles with achieving self-sufficiency in edible oils, importing 96% of its required palm oil, which makes up 67% of the country's edible oil import bill, totaling over Rs. 1 Lakh crore.
- This milestone marks a crucial step in India's quest for self-reliance in edible oils, bolstered by the National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP).
- India is the second-largest consumer of edible oil globally and one of its largest importers.
- India imported 16.5 million metric tons (MT) of edible oil in 2022-23 including: palm (9.8 MT from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand), soyabean (3.7 MT from Argentina and Brazil) and sunflower (3 MT from Russia, Ukraine and Argentina).
- Indonesia and Malaysia are the main global palm oil producers, followed by Thailand, Colombia, and Nigeria.