Adi Godrej, managing director, Godrej Soaps, said the government should make some changes in its policy framework with regards to oilseeds. The current restrictions on oilseeds import should be lifted, he urged. The fears of phytosanitary problems are by and large imaginary and many oilseeds growing countries freely permit imports, Godrej added.
Since the country has considerable idle crushing capacity, imports can facilitate the optimum utilisation of this industry, he said. Godrej was delivering the key-note address at GLOBOIL97, the first international conference and exhibition of its kind held in India.
He said the current 25 per cent tariff levy on imported edible oils was high and unworkable in the long term. This should be brought down to five per cent, he stressed. Restrictions on blending of oils, margarine and other value-added forms of edible oils should be removed, he stressed.
Godrej emphasised that the plethora of control orders such as the vanaspati and the solvent extraction order should be scrapped. He requested the government that the current reservations for oilseeds crushing should be done away with and forward markets be introduced.
Godrej dismissed government fears that if free oilseeds imports were permitted then it would bring various diseases and affect the domestic crop. This has never occurred in the past, when free imports were allowed, he added. Godrej cited the example of pulses imports, which had not adversely affected the local crop.
Edible oils is a major product of the oilseeds industry, he said. The country harvests a large variety of oilseeds and is a major producer of groundnut, rapeseed, castorseed, sesameseed, linseeds, cottonseed and safflowerseed. It also produces significant quantities of copra, soybean and sunflowerseed.
There has been a strong movement in consumer behaviour in edible oils from consumption of virgin crude oils such as groundnut, rapeseed, coconut and sesameseed to refined oils. Consumers have shifted loyalties from the bulk and loose form to packaged and branded products.
There is strong preference for healthy high polyunsaturated and monounsaturated oils such as sunflower and groundnut.
There has been a decline in the per capita consumption of hydrogenated oils like vanaspati. However, regional preferences still continue to be strong and restricts the introduction of new varieties of edible oils.
Palmolein has been an exception to this trend. Godrej said government regulations continue to make blended edible oils marketing either uneconomical or totally illegal. Oilseeds productivity in India continuesto be much below world averages, he revealed.Since the country has considerable idle crushing capacity, imports can facilitate the optimum utilisation of this industry Adi Godrej Managing Director Godrej soaps.
