Oils and Fats

India has the world's largest area under oilseeds - 27 million hectares of land, accounting for about 15% of the total world hectare. But with average yield of only about 0.8 tones/ hectare, production only reached 21.4 million tones in 1996 which was considered low by world standards. 

The major traditional oilseeds include groundnut and rapeseed. However, in the last 5 years or so, soybean and sunflower have witnessed sizeable increase in the share of total production. In 1996, groundnut and rapeseed accounted for 32% and 29% respectively.