Government’s emphasis on promoting sunflower area and production in the country

What is the News?

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare is focused on promoting the area and production of Sunflower in the country.

About Sunflower

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an important oilseed crop in India, popularly known as “Surajmukhi.” It is known as a sunflower as it follows the sun by day, always turning towards its direct rays. 

Sunflower is a major source of vegetable oil in the world. It is used for a variety of cooking purposes. Sunflower seed contains about 48 – 53% edible oil. 

Largest  Producer of Sunflower in the World: Ukraine is the largest producer of sunflower. (Ukraine and Russia together account for about 60% of the global sunflower oil production and exports). 

The Sunflower Production States in India: In India, Sunflower is grown mainly in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana. 

India’s Sunflower Oil Imports Dependence

Sunflower oil accounts for 10-12%  of India’s total 220-230 lakh tonnes of annual domestic demand for cooking oils.

As much as 90% of India’s sunflower oil requirement comes from Ukraine (70%) and Russia (20%).

However, supply disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict would result in a supply shortfall of at least 4-6 lakh tonnes of crude sunflower oil for India next fiscal and impact the production of domestic edible oil processors.

Source: This post is based the article “Government’s emphasis on promoting sunflower area and production in the country” published in PIB on 31st March 2022.