Pakistan should work for increasing domestic production of oilseeds to meet its growing need for edible oil and reduce reliance on import to save the precious foreign exchange and ensure economic development. "Domestic production of soft oil, canola, sunflower and soybean seed is not enough, hence major portion of demand is being met through import of soft oil seed," said Rana Iqbal Hussain chairman of Khalis Group of Industries.
In a statement issued here on Tuesday, Rana claimed that government on suggestion of some well-wishers proposed to increase custom duty on import of soybean oil from Rs 9500 to Rs 12,000 per metric ton in the budget 2018-19. He said it will incentivize farmers to increase domestic production of soft oil seed.
He said the government should not pay heed to propaganda by a particular lobby to reverse this decision, saying it would increase the prices of oil and ghee. He was of the view that increasing duty on soybean oil import may not result in increase of cooking oil and ghee rather he claimed that the prices will remain stable.
Rana Iqbal claimed if the custom duty on all soft oils, canola or sunflower is Rs 15,000 metric then why it is Rs 9500 metric ton on soybean. He also claimed that reduction in the palm olein prices have not been shifted by the local ghee industry to the customers. He was of the view that international prices of Olein are $640 per metric ton, so the cost of making ghee from it comes to Rs 125 per kilograms while it is being sold at Rs 157 per kilograms and Rs 163 per kilograms which is not fair for the consumers, he added.
He said, they as an industry, would assure that increasing duty on soybean import would not increase ghee prices rather they would convince the farmers of Pakistan to grow soybean and canola and get more price than growing wheat. He said the whole agriculture sector will get a boost in the shape of alternative valuable oilseed crops and dependence on imported oil will reduce.