Hyderabad, Mar 5 (KNN) The Telangana Government has urged the Union Government to reinstate the basic customs duty on crude palm oil to stabilise domestic prices and ensure fair returns for farmers, aiming for a target price of Rs 18,000 per tonne to boost farmer confidence.

Presently, the basic customs duty on crude palm oil, along with crude soybean oil and crude sunflower oil, stands at zero. However, factoring in the 5 per cent agri cess and 10 per cent social welfare cess, the effective duty on crude varieties of these three edible oils amounts to 5.5 per cent.

Telangana, a frontrunner in oil palm plantations nationwide with two lakh acres under cultivation, has ambitiously planned to expand the acreage to over eight lakh hectares (lha) within the next five years.

The Telangana government, embarking on an oil palm mission covering 31 out of the 33 districts in the state, has authorised 14 companies to establish processing centres and refineries.

Telangana Agriculture Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao emphasised the establishment of 42 nurseries to meet demand and promote cultivation.

According to Rao, the oil palm area in the state surged to 80,000 hectares in 2023-24 from zero in 1992-93 when promotion of the plantation began.

The National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm revealed that around 9 million tonnes (mt) of palm oil is imported annually, costing the exchequer Rs 40,000 crore.

With a potential area estimated at 28 lha, the country presently cultivates the plantation crop only in 3.70 lha, with Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as major contributors.

Telangana aims to transition a significant portion of farmers from paddy to oil palm cultivation, with the paddy area witnessing substantial growth in recent years due to improved irrigation facilities following the inauguration of the Kaleshwaram project.

(KNN Bureau)