Bangalore Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that India is exploring new markets for import of edible oil amid supply disruptions from Ukraine and Indonesia.
He also urged the industry to explore new markets for its exports to fill the supply gaps left by Russia and Ukraine after the war.
Sitharaman said, “Now we are importing edible oils from many other markets and are also looking at new markets.
Indonesia is banned palm oil exportWhich is almost half of India’s total edible oil imports. Ukraine has also banned the export of sunflower oil. Both the countries accounted for about 65% of India’s total annual edible oil imports.
He said that because of Ukraine-Russia conflictThere is an opportunity for industrialists in terms of exploiting those markets for exports from India.
“Earlier, Russia and Ukraine were exporting to some markets. Now, they are not exporting (due to conflict). We have got opportunity to export to those countries (where Ukraine and Russia were exporting). You (As industrialists) should also see opportunities in every challenge and the central government is always ready to extend its support.”
Sitharaman was speaking stakeholderThe outreach program organized by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade as India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the UAE and an Economic Cooperation Trade Agreement (ECTA) with Australia.
The Finance Minister also urged industries in Australia and UAE to “identify a partner to form the joint venture”, after the signing of agreements signed by India with the two countries.