Dr Ali Muhammad Khushk & Mumtaz Ali Joyo
THERE are many oilseed crops cultivated here and most of them are grown on small area. Rapeseed, mustard, sesame, linseed and castor are traditional oil crops, while sunflower and soybean non-traditional.
Cotton-seed is the major source of edible oil and accounts for more than 70 per cent of the domestic production. Rapeseed and mustard contribute around 16-18 per cent and non-traditional oilseed crops accounted for only 5-8 per cent of the total production over the last two decades. Corn and rice bran are the other small sources of oil.
Total production of edible oil is very little and a large quantity is imported. Both traditional and non-traditional oilseed crops contribute around one-fourth of the domestic requirements and nearly three-fourths of the local demand is met through imports.
Import of edible oil was only 82,000 tons in 1970-71 which increased to 16,04,000 tons during 2004-05. A big chunk of foreign exchange is being spent every year on import of edible oils. This drain of foreign exchange was only Rs135 million in 1970-71 which increased to Rs44.975 billion in 2004-05.
Local production of oilseed accounted for 29 per cent of domestic requirements while 71 per cent was met through imports. Steadily increasing demand, meagre and fluctuating domestic production base and the increasing imports are the salient features of current edible oil situation.
To meet the demand more than one million tons of edible oils are imported every year. The maximum import was 1.403 million tons in 2003-2004. The oil import bill stood at Rs150 billion in 1985-86 which reached it’s ever highest of Rs40.5 billion in 1998-99 and now Rs40.07 billion in 2003-04. In addition, Rs13.511 billion for the import of seed for crushing pushed the total cost of imported edible oil to Rs53.581 billion ($925 million) highest ever.
The main imports are RBD palm and soybean oils. Due to low international prices and cost advantages of manufacturing ghee, import of palm oil increased gradually. Being expensive, the import of soybean by private sector remained limited. However, soybean oil is some times being imported because of arrangements under PL-480 scheme. In 1994, Pakistan entered into a fresh agreement for import of soybean oil from USA under PL-480 arrangements. Other oil such as sunflower, rapeseed, linseed, castor, coconut, maize, olive, palm kernel, etc. are also imported in small quantities.
Per capita consumption: Per capita consumption of edible oil gradually increased from 7.37kg in 1980-81 to 13.29kg per annum in 2003-04. This increase is attributed to increase in per capita income and better standards of living. The projected per capita consumption of edible oil by 2010 will be 15.5 kg per annum, while the population of the country will be 168 million. With these parameters, around 2.604 million tons of edible oil will be needed by 2010 to meet the requirements. Industrial use of 0.300 million tons of vegetable oil would bring the country’s total requirements of vegetable oil to 2.904 million tons per year.
This can be obtained from bringing 3.872 million hectare under sunflower or canola crops cultivation. This is an extremely difficult target rather an impossible proposition within a short time of five years. Therefore, policy of importing edible oil will continue with emphasis on increasing oilseeds production.
Commercial cultivation of soybean was started here in 1970s and since then planting of soybean could not make a significant contribution in total production of all non-traditional oilseed crops. It was planted on a very small area and a declining trend was observed during the last three decades.
Soybean is mainly cultivated in NWFP followed by Punjab and Sindh provinces. About 80 per cent of total area under soybean is in the Frontier province. Framers here mostly plant soybean in orchards and obtained higher yields.
Demand projection: Soybean is cultivated here on a very limited scale and is showing a declining trend over the last three decades. Mostly it was planted only for research purposes, seed, and industry use (feed and edible oil) and was not used directly for human consumption. Domestic production of soybean is not sufficient. About 3,300 tons of soybean oil was imported during 2004-05. Domestic demand for soybean is for seeds and industrial demand for poultry feed and edible oil.
Marketing: One of the most important factors of less popularity of soybean compared to other oilseed crops was its inefficient marketing system. In Pakistan, soybean is planted as a cash crop and farmers keep the produce only for seed and the rest sold to the wholesalers, commission agents and also directly to the private processors. The middlemen procure the farmers' produce and sell directly to the private oilseed processors.
At present the Pakistan Oilseed Development Board (PODB) also has contract growers. These contract growers plant soybean for seed and also for commercial purpose under the technical supervision of the PODB technical staff. The PODB staff also procures oilseed at support price and facilitates the farmers in marketing their produce.
Since soybean is planted on a limited acreage, marketing of soybean grains is completed just after the harvesting season. The private processing companies also procure soybean directly from the producers on seasonal basis. Private sector is involved only in oilseed processing industry and is not playing any role at any level of crop production. The government announces the support price of soybean every year to encourage the farmers to increase area under this crop. All private traders and public agencies involved in the procurement of soybean, generally procure it at or above the minimum support prices.
Processing and trading: Soybean is mainly utilised for extraction of edible oil and industrial use. The main by-product of soybean oilseed extraction process is soy meal which is mainly utilised for poultry feed. Conclusion: Soybean seed availability is a major bottleneck in its limited area. Due to quick loss of seed viability, farmers remain reluctant in taking risk and availability of viable seed is a major factor in its popularisation. Non-availability of soybean threshers is a very serious factor in its promotion and constraint in its low productivity. In fact, provincial agricultural extension departments have been concentrating only on major crops and due attention has not been given to this crop and farmers were not aware about the production technologies of soybean.
Inefficient and inadequate marketing of soybean was the most important factor limiting the adoption and low area under this crop. The farmers were very much upset when they were unable to dispose of their produce in the market. Many farmers stopped growing soybean in the past in Mansehra area of NWFP when they were unable to sell it in the market. There is no open market for soybean like other crops in the country. Farmers are also unaware about procurement centres.
At present only public sector (PODB) is responsible for procurement and promotion of soybean plantation. Private sector was only involved in oilseed processing industry and was not playing any role at any level of crop production. The oilseed processing industry in the private sector is well developed here. This industry may be encouraged through a viable government policy for the promotion of soybean crop. The industry may be involved in production, procurement and processing levels of soybean in all the four provinces. Presently most of the processing industry is in Punjab and crop is planted in NWFP. Soybean competes for area with rice, cotton and maize and these are the cash crops. Low profitability compared to its competing crops was another factor for low adoption of soybean.
Private sector may be encouraged to introduce through a campaign the uses of soybean as soy milk, soy meat, soy nuts and beans, soy sauce, etc. Industries for soybean by-products for food can be established which would also help in increasing the demand of this crop. Since soybean is rich in protein, growers may be trained and introduced through extension services to use soybean as part of their normal diet. This will also help in considerably increasing the area under this crop.