Dal and Oil: India's Kitchen Imports
The Kitchen Import Bill
How much India spends importing edible oils and pulses, why these two items are major imports for a food-surplus country, and why it matters.
India produces surplus rice, wheat and sugar. Yet it imports large amounts of edible oils and some pulses.
Edible oils
- India is the world’s largest importer of edible oils.
- Imports meet around 55 to 60 percent of domestic demand.
- The import bill has often been around 15 to 20 billion dollars a year, depending on prices.
Pulses
- India is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses.
- It still imports a portion of its needs, especially tur (arhar), urad and lentils (masoor), and sometimes yellow peas and chickpeas.
Why imports grew
- Rising incomes raised consumption of oils and pulses.
- Stagnant yields at home.
- Policies favouring rice and wheat through MSP and procurement.
- Rain-fed farming of oilseeds and pulses is riskier.
Why it matters
- Foreign exchange spending.
- Vulnerability to global price spikes and export bans.
- Nutrition: pulses are key protein sources.
The shopping basket
A family buys wheat and rice grown in India, but the palm oil in their cooking oil comes from Indonesia and part of their dal from Canada or Africa.
Thinking India is self-sufficient in all food
It imports much of its edible oil and some pulses.
Key takeaways
- India is the world's largest edible oil importer.
- Imports meet about 55 to 60 percent of oil demand.
- India is the largest pulse producer but still imports some.
- Imports create price and supply vulnerabilities.
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