India to launch $1.48 bln plan to raise oilseed output, cut imports

The country produces less than half of the roughly 24 million tonnes of edible oil that it consumes annually. It imports the rest, buying palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, soyoil from Brazil and Argentina, and sunflower oil, mainly from Russia and Ukraine.(In this file photo a worker arranges and washes palm oil fruits at a factory in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur. - AFP)

NEW DELHI: India will launch a 110 billion rupee (US$1.48 billion) plan to boost domestic oilseed production to make the country self-sufficient in edible oil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday, a move that will cut costly vegetable oil imports.

India is the world's biggest vegetable oil importer and spends an average of $8.5-$10 billion annually on edible oil imports.