President, Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), Mian Zahid Hussain, has said that self-sufficiency in edible oil can help Pakistan save $2.5 billion annually. He said that the country remained self-sufficient in edible oil for thirteen years after independence but the exploitation of farmers and lack of interest on the part of the concerned authorities resulted in imports, which were now second largest after fossil fuel.
Speaking to business community on Tuesday, he said that farmers of different oilseeds were at the mercy of middlemen, which was the biggest reason behind lack of interest by growers. He called for bringing more land under cultivation, increasing support price, incentives, promotion of latest seed varieties and giving preference to the coastal belts of Sindh and Balochistan.
Hussain also called for promotion of research, giving subsidy on inputs, interest-free loans, gradual increase in import duty, employing better technology, improving capacity of grinding mills and empowering Pakistan Oilseed Development Board. He said that primitive grinding process resulted in wastage of two lakh tonnes of cotton seed, while 30,000 tonnes could be extracted from rice bran. He said that the country's per capita consumption stood at 12-13 litres, which was increasing by three percent annually. But, the country, he added was producing one-third of the edible oil, while rest was imported.
He said that 40 to 48 percent oil could be extracted from sunflower, 32 percent from rapeseed while 10 to 12 percent could be obtained from cottonseed. "Focus on local production, establishing new edible oil refineries and better functioning of the oilseed extraction industry can help improve the situation," he added.