India’s Agriculture Ministry holding survey on edible oil consumption pattern

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In a first, the Union Agriculture Ministry is conducting a survey on edible oils using the “My Gov” platform to formulate a policy for farmers to produce what consumers want. This will lso benefit farmers also as they will cultivate demand-driven crops and help the country move towards self-sufficiency in edible oil.

The survey launched on January 9 will close on February 23 and the Ministry’s statistical division will analyse the response and prepare a report, sources said.

Output target

Though the ₹10,103-crore National Mission on Edible Oil (Oilseeds) was launched in October 2024, it may be tweaked suitably, if required, after analysing the survey report, sources said. The Mission will be implemented over next six years with a target to increase the production of oilseed crops to 69.7 million tonnes (mt) by 2030-31 from about 39 mt (in 2022-23).

Together with NMEO-OP (Oil Palm), the Mission targets to increase domestic edible oil production to 25.45 mt by 2030-31 meeting around 72 per cent of India’s projected domestic requirement.

The Survey has questions like estimated monthly use of edible oil (in litres) for domestic/household cooking, type of oil usually used, how often deep-fry food is prepared, any switch between different types of oils, change of cooking oil as per season/weather and if more than one type of oil is used.

The survey also wants participants to tell what the most important factors are in choosing cooking oil out of taste, price, health benefits and Bbrand. Participants are also asked to share which cooking oil they avoid and if they are willing to pay more for healthier oil.

Health risks queries

Questions like reuse of oils (after frying), if consumers are concerned about what oil used at eateries, if people think consuming too much oil leads to obesity and heart disease, if consumers heard about health risks from trans fat, how many people read labels on the pack and medium (online/friends/TV/social media) that influences selection of a type/brand of oil may help the government to address health issues, the sources said.

Besides the questions on preferences of consumers, the participants in the survey have also been asked to fill their profile including annual income and domicile in city or village.

“Though the initiative is good, its reliance on data collection through ‘My Gov’ will limit participants only to those who are tech savvy like using a mobile and ready to spend time by registering first to fill their answers,” said an edible oil industry official. He suggested a parallel survey by a reputed agency to validate the data analysis.

Import drops

Import of edible oils (non-edible oil for industrial use excluded) during the 2023-24 oil year (November-October) dropped 3 per cent to 15.96 mt worth ₹1,31,967 crore (or $15.9 billion) from the previous year, according to industry body Solvent Extractors’ Association of India. Last season’s import, still, was 61-63 per cent of the annual consumption pegged at 25.5-26 mt.

The SEA has projected import may be less by about 1 mt at 15 mt during the 2024-25 oil year due to an expected record domestic oilseeds crop.