Malaysia Unfazed by India’s Edible Oil Self-Sufficiency Push

11-Aug-2025 05:00 PM

Mumbai. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Malaysian Palm Oil Council (Empoc) has said that there is no threat to Malaysia in the near future from the efforts being made by India to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of edible oils. Malaysia will remain the major supplier of palm oil to India for a long time.

It is worth mentioning that through the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), India has started an ambitious effort to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils, but Malaysia does not consider it a serious challenge or threat for itself. On the contrary, Empoc has welcomed this effort of India.

According to Empoc, this is a progressive step of the government from the point of view of Indian edible oil security and Malaysia has also been supporting it.

After Indonesia, Malaysia is the second largest producer and exporter of palm oil in the world. It is true that every effort is being made to promote the cultivation of oil palm in India, but the expected success is not being achieved in this. The expansion of oil palm plantation area is far behind the set target.

As a result, the country is importing huge quantities of palm oil from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. During the year 2024, India's import of palm oil from Malaysia reached 30 lakh tonnes.

The share of palm oil in the total consumption of edible oils in the domestic sector has reached 34.2 percent and Malaysia remains a major source of its supply.

Empoc says that it takes a long time for the oil palm plant to grow and be ready to bear fruit. The pace of expansion of palm plantations in India is slow while the demand and consumption of palm oil is very high.

As a result, India will have to depend on imports from abroad for palm oil for the next several years.