Higher demand increases acreage of oil seeds

Higher demand from edible oil mills and animal feed mills has notably increased oil-seed acreage in the country this year, said insiders.

The country's total edible oil demand of 2.0-2.2 million tonnes is mainly met by importing crude soybean oil and palm oil. It produces 0.2-0.25 million tonnes of mustard oil by extracting locally grown seeds.

Mustard oil cake (khoil) and soya cake along with soybean seeds have a high demand among the animal feed makers, which produce 5.5-6.0 million tonnes of feed annually.

Farmers have cultivated oil seeds, including mustard, canola-rapeseed, soybean, sesame, and groundnut, on 0.48 million hectares of land so far this year, which was 0.385 million hectares last year.

Mustard oil seed production has so far surpassed 0.45 million hectares, which was 0.4 million hectares last year.

A total of 0.82 million hectares of land has been targeted for oil seed cultivation this year, of which mustard constitutes 0.67 million hectares. The country has a target to produce 1.55 million tonnes of oil seeds this year, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

The acreage target would surpass by 0.1-0.12 million hectares within January, said DAE deputy director (pulses, oils and others) Dr Md Zainul Abedin.

He noted that prices of both mustard seed and soybean seed were very lucrative last year.

Farmers got Tk 5,500 a maund for mustard oil seed in the March-April period. Soya seed was sold at above Tk 70 a kg, giving farmers 25-30 per cent profit, he added.

Meanwhile, health-conscious people are gradually shifting to using mustard, sunflower and other healthy oils instead of soybean or palm oils.

Md Shah Alam, the proprietor of Tatka Foods, said he supplies mustard oil and ghee to Dhaka after sourcing those from Sirajganj and Pabna.

There is a scarcity of mustard seed now, as they can hardly source it even after offering Tk 150 a kg.

He also said minimum cost for extracting one kg of mustard oil is now Tk 280 a kg, including oil cake price.

"We are selling it at Tk 280-320 a kg, while you can buy branded/bottled mustard oil at Tk 400 a kg."

"We can get a maximum of 17 kg oil by extracting 40 kg mustard seed. The residue oil cake can be sold at Tk 1,000-1,100 weighing 21-22 kgs."

Oil mills are making advance contracts with farmers in Sirajganj, Tangail and Manikganj to source mustard seed, he added.

Delowar Jahan, founder of Prakritik Krishi - a platform of chemical-free safe food, said volatility in the global edible oil market has put a profound impact on the local market too.

Mustard oil seed production is gradually rising, but it is still not enough to meet the huge local demand. So, the supply shortage has helped farmers to get good profit.

"Besides, oil seed fields are a great source of honey. Some 60 per cent of the total honey is collected from mustard and canola seed fields across the country," he added.

Feed Industries Association of Bangladesh (FIAB) vice president Rakibur Rahman Tutul said the industry produces 5.5-6.0 million tonnes of cattle, poultry and fish feeds, and the demand is rising by 6.0-8.0 per cent per annum.

Oil cakes comprise 25-30 per cent of the raw materials, followed by maize. Soya cake prices shot up by 80-100 per cent in the last one and a half years to Tk 76-78 a kg.

Most of the feed mills depend on soya cake - supplied by local refiners, he added.

Ministry of Agriculture Additional Secretary Balai Krishna Hazra said the government has set a roadmap to raise local edible oil production by nearly 200 per cent within the financial year (FY) 2024-25, which could meet minimum 40 per cent of the country's total demand.

Under the roadmap, a target has been fixed to enhance oil seed acreage to 2.4 million hectares from the present 0.82 million hectares within FY 25.

He also said currently the country produces 1.3 million tonnes of oil seeds, of which mustard comprises more than 60 per cent.

The roadmap has a three-year short-term strategy to raise the local availability of edible oils to 40 per cent of the demand between FY 23 and FY 25.

The roadmap also has a long-term target to plant 10 million coconut trees in the coastal region to boost coconut oil production, he added.

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