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“Due to Covid, all kinds of oil imports were affected”
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Monday, 12 July, 2021, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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 Babulal Data, chairman, Data Group, and chairman, Mustard Oil Producer of India & Central Organisation for Oil Industry & Trade, in an email interaction with F&B News, throws light on his products, the oil industry in India, current scenario and more. Excerpts:
Since the beginning of this fiscal, the rate of mustard oil has gone up nearly by 40-45%. Comment.
The lockdown had adverse impact on every industry, but mustard oil as an essential edible oil product registered hike in its demand and sales due to its purity and medical benefit. Mustard oil is by its characteristic an immunity booster. This belief about mustard oil has been prevalent since a long time. However, due to complete stillness in transport of goods, inter-state travel and disruption in supply chain deteriorated the production. The scale of mustard oil production every year has been around 80 lakh metric tonne, which was reduced to somewhere between 65-70 lakh metric tonne. Apart from this, the price hike was accounted to increased crushing of mustard seeds for meeting the rise in demand of oil. National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) and Haryana State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation Ltd. (HAFED), India’s oldest and largest farmer co-operative bodies, had a buffer stock of around 14 lakh mustard seeds, and they did not sell it any comprising cost but went on selling it at a higher price point than usual. This cycle had a great impact on the market selling points.
Tell us about the range of oils produced by your group.
The group markets its products under various brand names including Scooter, Ashoka, Shiv, Scooty, Ashoka Lite in Mustard oil and Ashoka & Scooter in Soya Refined oil, Palm lien Refined oil, Ashoka Groundnut Refined oil, Shiv Classic. Nirab, Ritika and Mast Health are in blended oil in Agmark and Vanspati ghee in Ashoka, Scooter and Ritika Brand. We have five manufacturing units with our headquarters in Rajasthan. Our annual production capacity is of approximately 3 lakh tonne. While the group is present in various states across the country, we have a sizeable market share in states like Bihar, North Eastern states, West Bengal, Punjab , Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
What is the role of mustard oil in building immunity?
Covid-19 has made everyone extremely cautious about their health. Eating right has seen different explanations in terms of quality and quantity of food products consumed. As per scientific research, mustard oil has ingredients which are immunity boosters. It can be consumed via pickles, daily eatables, or externally via oil massage. The pungent characteristic of mustard oil makes it useful in clearing congestion and blocked sinuses. Home remedies like heated mustard oil with garlic cloves can provide relief from cough and cold when rubbed on soles of the feet and chest.
What are the challenges faced by this sector?
The increased demand of mustard oil due to its remedial properties has put a strain on the production capacity. The consumer demand is heightened, but production is still happening at a slower pace due to the disruptions in supply chain. Positive sentiment was prevalent, due to the timely rainfall. If sowing of mustard seeds goes up by 25%, then there will be enough produce to meet the market demand. However, we have two crucial winter months of harvesting the crop, they will be determining the amount and quality of produce. Diseased crop could be a challenge to the sector as it can directly impact the production levels of crop.
How is the work going on in the Alwar manufacturing plant with the help of latest contactless packaging mechanism?
We have increased our packaging process manifold with the help of using new technology implemented by us. It has helped us in increasing the supply of our products. Packaging cost has also been reduced, which has helped us save more than the usual margins.
From where do you get pure vegetable ingredients and mustard seeds for your edible oils?
We get our ingredients from a variety of places around India. To begin with, pure vegetable ingredients and mustard seeds for mustard oil are sourced from Alwar district or nearby cities of Haryana which share border with Rajasthan. NAFED and HAFED are also selling mustard seeds, and we purchase from them as well. For blended oils, we get Soya seeds from port while rice bran is sourced from Southern states, West Bengal and Punjab.
The demand for edible oil import is low this year compared to last fiscal 2019. Can you tell us something about the same?
Due to Covid, all kinds of oil imports were affected. Large scale events such as wedding, and other corporate events all stood cancelled. Tourism was also heavily affected, restaurants were majorly consuming these oils on a daily basis. All of these factors combined have led to edible oil import being low this year.
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