'India's mustard oil output to touch 34 lakh tonnes by 2020'

India's mustard oil production is expected to touch 34 lakh tonnes (LT) by 2020, driven by sustained rise in crop acreage.

"Production of mustard oil set to rise further in coming years, as mustard acreage is on higher side and now developed hybrid varieties of mustard are available. These new varieties have oil yield of up to 45 per cent compared to present yield of 33 per cent," Puri Oil Mills Managing Director Vivek Puri told PTI.

Mustard is a rabi crop and sowing starts from November.

Output of mustard oil in the financial year 2012-13 stood at 23 LT, which is expected to reach 26 LT by the end of current fiscal, he said.

"Going by the present crop scenario and taking into consideration the output of last few years, it is quite likely that total mustard oil output will touch 34 LT by 2020," Puri said.

Mustard acreage in 2012-13 stood at 63 lakh hectares and production stood at 66 LT, which is estimated to cross 78 LT in 2013-14 as acreage reported is at 67.5 million hectares during the current season.

Major mustard producing states in the country are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Maharashtra.

Rajasthan alone contributes about 50% of total output.

Higher mustard seed production would lead to increase in mustard oil output, which is indeed good news since India depends on edible oil imports to meet its requirement as there is a huge gap between demand and supply, he added.

"As the people are becoming aware about health benefits of mustard oil especially for heart, the demand of the oil is gradually increasing from urban areas in the country," Puri added.

Puri oil mills, sells its mustard oil under the brand name 'P Mark' and has three mustard seed crushing facilities in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

The company has recently roped in Bollywood actor Boman Irani as brand ambassador for its 'P' mark oil.