January 17, 2003	Friday	Ziqa'ad 13, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 16: Pakistan is the second largest importer of edible oils in the world and its import bill has risen to more than Rs21 billion.

This was stated by the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council chairman, Dr Badaruddin Soomro, while speaking at a national workshop on edible oilseeds production in Pakistan being held at the University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, according to a press release.

He said the existing edible oil deficit and the increasing demand revealed that Pakistan might confront a sizable shortage in coming years.

He said the ever-increasing demand of edible oil in the country required a strong and efficient agricultural research system. The rise in demand of edible oil was attributed to population growth, increase in per capita consumption and stagnant domestic production, he added.

Dr Soomro said there was a huge potential to meet this demand by adopting latest production and processing technology.

He appreciated the efforts of University of Arid Agriculture to organize workshops and seminars on issues related to the field of agriculture. Earlier, the University Arid Agriculture vice-chancellor, Prof Dr Khalid Mehmood Khan, welcomed the participants of the workshop.

During the workshop, the scientists emphasized on provision of funds for research and development of technology.