The immediate objectives of the group would be to make suggestions to progressively reduce heavy dependence on imported edible oils and to develop the concept of price stabilisation mechanism in respect of oilseeds and edible oils both in loose and in packed form.

The group is expected to make suggestions on how to optimise utilisation of the idle capacity of the processing industry, to develop appropriate collection mechanism for oil bearing seeds of forest and tree origin to augment production of edible oils from secondary sources and to develop the concept of trigger points through which stability inoilseeds and edible oil market, including import is regulated on a long- term basis.

The group to be chaired by additional secretary, ministry of food and consumer affairs, CS Rao, will include presidents and chairmens of various industry organisations and representatives from other government agencies involved in the edible oilseeds and oils complex.

The government has recognised that the vegetable oils industry continues to suffer from several distortions and also that the various segments of the vegetable oil industry have often divergent interests and sometimes even work at cross purposes.

There is need for taking a total and composite look at the vegetable oils system which comprises oilseed production, oilseed trading, expeller operations, solvent extractions, refining, blending and packaging, vanaspati production, deoiled cake export, processing of oil bearing materials such as soyabean and manufacture of downstream products.

There is a linked question of small- scale reservations imports andduty structure on oilseeds, crude edible oils, refined edible oils and palmolein. Taking all these factors into consideration, the government has adopted a pragmatic approach by setting up the working group.

Recently the central government announced permission for import of all oilseeds under Open General Licence (OGL). This was a step that will improve the oil availability in the country to the extent of self- sufficiency given the huge idle capacity of the oil crushing industry in the country.

However the modalities of the import are yet to be worked out and required notification is yet to be released. Though the imports will be subject to plant quarantine measures (regarding pest risk) it will increase the oilseeds availability raw material strapped edible oil industry.

India has been importing edible oils from the global market to meet the shortage in domestic supply. The country had imported approximately 20 lakh tonnes of edible oil in the oil year 1997-98 (November 97-October 98). The permissionto import all oilseeds under OGL has been a long standing demand of the industry facing an acute shortage of raw material.

The government had allowed to import one lakh tonne of soyabean in March 1998 and had subsequently allowed import of sunflower seed as well. However, the industry found it uncompetitive to import these oilseeds as there was no price parity.

Last year the agriculture ministry had formed a sub-committee to look into all aspects relating to imports of oilseeds for crushing purposes. The three-member sub-committee had submitted its recommendations by early April. The report had look into the issue of plant quarantine which was the deciding factor for allowing import of these oilseeds.

The committee chaired by joint secretary (plant protection), ministry of agriculture, KM Chadhha, had discussed the issue of imports of oilseeds and oil-bearing materials at length and the quarantine officials confirmed that there would not be any problem from the plant quarantine angle for imports ofricebran and its oilcake.

The committee had looked into pest risk analysis (PRA) in respect of soyabean, sunflowerseed and rapeseed, and had recommended imports of these oilseeds.

The current oilseeds productivity in India is 851 kg per hectare against the world average of about 2,500 kg per hectare. The irony is there has not been any attempt to increase the yield.