Oil palm body welcomes 100% FDI, seeks ease in land ceiling norms

Country has over 200,000 ha under oil palm and has scope to bring around 2 mn ha more

The Oil Palm Developers and Processors Association (OPDPA), nodal body for oil palm development in India, has welcomed 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in oil palm plantations. It termed this as one of the important steps in filling the supply gap of edible oil in India.

The country has over 200,000 hectare (ha) under oil palm and has scope to bring around 2 million ha more. It currently employs 20,000 people and has the potential to create 200,000 jobs.

"With this positive step from the Government of India, this massive potential can be cashed in and India's palm oil import burden of $10 billion can be reduced," said Sanjay Goenka, president-OPDPA.

The association, however, has made some suggestions to tackle the issues facing oil palm farmers and the industry and to accelerate development of oil palm.

It called for relaxation in land ceiling norms for oil palm growth and sought permission for large-scale plantation in addition to the present contract farming mode.

Goenka in a release said a separate palm oil import policy was needed as the current import duty levels were not supportive to oil palm farmers and the industry.

The body also wanted formation of a separate oil palm development board to boost the industry. "This will help address issues facing the farmer/ industry on a regular basis. This is one of the reasons for poor palm oil development in the country," the release stated.

It also wanted a long-term subsidy policy to support the farmers. "The palm oil Industry deserves highest priority and encouragement to meet the internal demand of edible oil, resulting in strong imprint on savings of foreign exchange," it said.