Sunflower will be sown on 1.1 million acres in 2007-08 season, 60 percent more than sown in 2006-07, an official in the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) told Business Recorder here on Monday.
According to him, last year the crop was sown on 0.99 million acres. "In this respect, the production area of crop in 2007-08 has increased by approximately 60 percent, as compared to last year", he said.
The official said that procurement price for 2007-08 sunflower crop has been fixed by private sector at Rs 1200 per 40 kg. "The All Pakistan Solvent Extractor Association has fixed the procurement price at Rs 1200 per 40 kg, against Rs 900 in 2006-07", he said.
Soybean, peanut, rape seed and sunflower are the four major oilseed crops. Pakistan has been facing deficiency in edible oil production for a long time. The country's own production is below the consumption levels with a very wide gap between production and consumption. This gap is bridged through import of edible oil worth Rs 45.0 billion annually. Presently, the oilseeds production meets only about 25 percent of the requirements. The country's consumption is increasing at an annual rate of 7.7 percent, the official said.
The procurement price is expected to attract a massive number of farmers. In international market, sunflower oil is being sold at $700 per ton. "If the farmers pay heed to this minor crop production along with the major crops production like sugarcane, wheat and rice, then that will be beneficial to both the grower and the country", the official said. Anyhow, he expressed fear that if the growers started cultivation of this crop on huge level, then this crop can encroach upon the wheat production area.