Govt plans to boost rice bran oil production

Against a backdrop of the soaring prices of edible oil in the country, the government is set to take an initiative to devise strategies for ramping up rice bran oil production aiming to cut dependency on widely-consumed soybean and palm oils, sources said.
Besides, they said, the government considers providing necessary support to domestic producers aimed at increasing rice bran oil production in the country.
To this end, the commerce ministry is expected to organise an inter-ministerial workshop on June 02 to work out strategies in this regard.
Representatives from stakeholders including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), Bangladesh Rice Bran Oil Mills Association (BRBOMA) and Bangladesh Rice Mills Owners Association will take part in the workshop.
Bangladesh annually imports 2.2 million to 2.6 million tonnes of edible oils, including 0.7 million to 0.8 million tonnes of soybean oil and 1.4 million to 1.6 million tonnes of palm oil. More than 95 per cent of the local demand for edible oil is met through imports.
The country produces 0.343 million tonnes of crude rice bran oil annually and it is possible to raise the production volume to 0.514 million tonnes, sources said.
The prices of edible oil have increased across the globe due to Russian invasion of Ukraine in February last.
The government of Bangladesh has reduced value added tax (VAT) and duty on imports of cooking oil to tackle the oil price volatility and keep the oil market stable.
There are 17 rice bran oil mills in the country, according to BRBOMA. The mills have the bran process capacity of over 1.63 million tonnes annually.
Only 800 tonnes of refined rice bran oil enter the local market every month.
The country fetched over US$ 175 million by exporting crude rice bran oil in the last 10 months of the current fiscal year.
When contacted, General Secretary of BRBOMA Prokash Dutta said it will be possible for them to meet 10 per cent of the local demand for edible oil if the government provides necessary support to them.
Neighbouring India is the major importer of Bangladeshi crude rice bran oil, he added.
He, however, said only three mills out of 13 are in operation in the country.

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