Pushing for Self-sufficiency in Edible Oils in India in the Aftermath of Recent Global Events

Abstract

India is largely import dependent in meeting its domestic demand of edible oils. This study aims to discuss the consequences of recent global events such as COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war on edible oil imports. Due to prevailing supply chain disruptions and local shortages in significant supplier countries, international prices became highly volatile, and import volumes were hit severely. This led to an almost doubling of the cost of imports from US $ billion 9.52 in 2019–20 to US $18.70 billion in 2021–22, putting an enormous burden on the Indian exchequer. Overall, an increase in the price of all edible oils has been recorded since the later parts of 2021, exerting inflationary pressure on the food price index. As edible oils are part of staple diets, the import dependency of such a large magnitude makes India extremely vulnerable to external shocks. This calls for immediate attention to the issue of self-sufficiency (atma nirbharata) in edible oils production by emphasizing long-term measures.