FAISALABAD: Pakistan must promote oilseed crops in the country to meet its domestic demand instead of importing over 3.5 million metric tonnes of edible oil every year.

This was stated by University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan while addressing an international seminar on “Palm Oil Trade, Applications and Diet” held here at UAF. The seminar was jointly organized by the National Institute of Food Science and Technology, UAF and Malaysian Palm Oil board (MPOB).

The UAF VC said that it was need of hour to promote oilseed crops in the country to overcome the issue. He said that palm oil was one of the famous vegetable oil and there was a need to dispel the misconception about it. He said, “We have to ensure proper procedures and measures for the production of edible oil for the health of people”. He called for joint efforts to cope with the food security which was posing a threat.

Johari Minal from MPOB said that Pakistan edible oil consumption had risen significantly from 2.7 million metric tonnes in 2000 to 5.3 million metric tonnes in 2020. The market has grown double over the time and palm oil accounted for 50 percent of the total and rest of from Soybean, canola, and cottonseed oils among others.

Malaysia is also an advocate of sustainable oil palm and has implemented certification of certified and sustainable palm oil under the framework of Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification scheme, he said and added that Malaysian Palm Oil Statistics (MPOS) were a leading and trusted producer of certified palm oil.

Dean Faculty of Food Nutrition and Home Sciences Prof Dr Masood Sadiq Butt said that Pakistan consumes millions of tonnes of edible oil a year, of which major portion of it was imported, mainly from Malaysia and Indonesia- the world’s biggest producers of the commodity. He said that palm oil was widely used by the industry for manufacturing ghee. He said that valuable research work with Malaysia would be carried out on palm oil.

National Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFSAT) Director General Dr Tahir Zahoor said that the collaboration with Malaysia would bring tangible research especially in the palm oil as Malaysia was the one of largest producers of edible oil. The university used to hold such seminars for the public awareness, he added.