Bangladesh: Plan to meet 40% edible oil demand locally

The government has prepared a draft roadmap to raise local edible oil production by nearly 200 per cent within the fiscal year (FY) 2024-25, which could meet minimum 40 per cent of the country's total demand, officials said. The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has readied the draft roadmap recently as part of a move to overcome any edible oil supply shortage through local sources by enhancing oil seed acreage to 2.4 million hectares from the present 0.82 million hectares, said a senior official. MoA Additional Secretary Balai Krishna Hazra has said the draft is going to be tabled within one or two days to finalise the roadmap. He has noted that currently the country produces 1.2 million tonnes of oil seeds, of which mustard comprises more than 60 per cent. The roadmap has a short-term strategy of three years to raise local availability to 40 per cent of the demand between FY 23 and FY 25. It also has long-term target to plant 10 million coconut trees in the coastal region to boost ...