WHILE Pakistan is an agricultural-centric economy, it relies on imports for approximately 89 percent of its edible oil needs and spends 3.6 billion U.S. dollars annually to fulfil the demand of around 5 million tons. Edible oil plays a crucial role in human nutrition, providing essential fatty acids necessary for growth and overall health. However, Pakistan has faced challenges related to edible oil availability and production. Let’s delve into the complexities of this issue and explore potential solutions. Due to the high cost of imported edible oil, most farmers had to resort to cheaper but unhealthy alternatives such as mustard oil because of the unavailability of good quality oil seeds in the local market. During the second decade after Pakistan’s independence, edible oil deficiency emerged due to population growth and specific cooking habits prevalent in South East Asian culture. In recent times, rapid urbanization and the rise of the fast-food industry escalated per capita consumption from 6 kg/year to 18 kg/year.

The factors affecting Pakistan’s edible oil situation are complex. They comprise: Uncertainty in market prices for farmers’ produce; Lack of a robust procurement system and import of low-quality palm oil at cheaper rates by the dominant Vanaspati Ghee Industry, hindering domestic production. The impact of import dependency is that edible oil became Pakistan’s largest food import commodity, ranking third after petroleum products and machinery. In 2020, imports reached a value of US$ 3.068 billion. If unchecked, this import trend could lead to an expenditure of Rs 757 billion by 2025. The domestic production gap is that during 2019-20, domestic edible oil........

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