COOIT president GG Patel and the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEAI) president Ajay Tondon told reporters on Friday that there has been a gross capacity under-utilisation of the processing industry. Though finished products were freely importable and also some of our raw materials can be exported, the import of raw materials was not allowed. "If oilseeds and oil bearing materials are permitted to be imported the industry will have the much needed raw material, be able to increase its capacity utilisation and have a level playing field in the national and international markets," they added.

During last thee years, India has become the largest importer of vegetable oils in the world next only to China with import of 18 lakh tonnes ofedible and non-edible oil during the last oil year. Most probably import may touch 20 lakh tonnes during the current year ending October 1998.

In the last four years, import duty on edible oil has been reduced from 65 per cent to 15 per cent which has resulted into large scale import of edible oils. the imported palmolein and other oils dumping into the Indian market has hampered the development of the domestic oil seed cultivation and exploitation of non traditional sources.

Tondon said that the country has an untapped potential from non traditional sources like rice bran, oilcake, minor and oilseeds of tree origin and cottonseeds. The total potential was over three million tonnes of oils but hardly 50 per cent of it was exploited.

On the export front, exports of oilmeal, oilseeds and minor oils for the 1997-98 has slightly declined in terms of quantity to 4.52 million tonnes valued at Rs 4,168 crore against the export of 4.54 million tonnes valued at Rs 3,769 crore in 1996-97. The fall in exportrealisation of oilmeal by over 40 to 50 per cent in last six months would seriously affect both export earning during the current year.

Soyabean meal which was quoted at $320 in April 1997 was currently being quoted at hardly $120/130. Similarly, rapeseed meal which was quoted $120 was now quoted at $75/80 and sow was the case with other extractions.

Patel said that the main reasons for the fall in exports were the currency turmoil in ASEAN countries, excess world supply of soyabean meal coupled with easy credit finance under various programmes by USA and Canada.

Tondon said that the centre should dereserve the crushing of mustard oil as at present 80 per cent was made available in the loose form by the small scale sector and the balance by the organised sector. He demanded that the centre should reconsider the recent ban on the sale of loose and packed mustard oil and added that mustard oil contributes almost 30 per cent edible oil in the country.

In view of the importance of mustard as a cash cropfor farmers and as a major supply source of edible oils, care has to be taken that steps initiated by the government in the wake of reports of adulteration of mustard oil do not result in discouraging mustard cultivation which would be a great setback to the industry's efforts in achieving self sufficiency.