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Mustard cultivation has exceeded the target in the current season thanks to a record hike in edible oil prices on the local market in recent months.
Cultivation Expands
Farmers have cultivated the crop on 7.97 lakh hectares, far surpassing the targeted area of 6.7 lakh hectares, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension. The estimated output will be roughly 9.38 lakh tonnes, with a price of no less than Tk 11,725 crore based on current market rates. In the past dry season, per maund (37.32kg) of mustard sold for roughly Tk 5,000. A total of 8.24 lakh tonnes of mustard was produced on 5.9 lakh hectares of land last year. It is expected that price will remain at last year’s level since soybean oil is selling at historic high level on the local market. The country is entirely reliant on imports of soybean oil.
Leading Factors
Aside from the high profit, there are other factors that drive farmers to plant more mustard. The DAE has offered high-yielding seeds and fertilisers to 10 lakh farmers. It has also helped with mustard cultivation while growing Aman paddy. Mustard seed meal, an oil seed waste, is widely used in the cattle industry. The demand for meal has grown significantly with the expansion of the poultry industry. The popularity of mustard cultivation has also been attributed to the short period of time. DAE figures show that mustard cultivation area doubled in the last 10 years. Farmers grew mustard on 4.62 lakh hectares in 2009-10 fiscal year.
Beekeeping
The mustard cultivation is also linked with commercial beekeeping, which is gaining popularity in the county. Honey production might surpass 11,500 tonnes in the current season with at least 20 per cent growth due to favourable weather conditions. The market value of the projected amount of honey will be around Tk 550 crore. Commercial beekeepers first collect honey from mustard and other oilseed fields in December-January period, then from black cumin, coriander and pulse fields in January-March period, and from litchi gardens in March-April period, according to the Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation. Tangail, Manikganj, Gazipur, Dhaka, Jamalpur,Sirajganj, Bogra, Pabna, Natore, Madaripur, Faridpur, Thakurgaon, Dinajpur,Rajshahi, Magura, Jhenaidah, Meherpur, Jashore, Satkhira, Bagerhat, Khulna, Noakhali, Feni and Lakshmipur are key oilseed and litchi growing districts.
Govt Initiatives
The agriculture ministry is currently implementing a Tk 278 crore project to increase production of mustard, sunflower and groundnut in order to meet 40 per cent of the country’s edible oil demand through locally produced oilseeds by fiscal year 2024-25. The success of the project will help the country to cut reliance on imported edible oil and save foreign currency. The country spent Tk 35,730 crore on imports of oilseeds and edible oil in fiscal 2021-22. According to the Bangladesh Bank, import costs were four times lower in 2009-10, at Tk 8,160 crore. The depreciation of local currency against the US dollar is mostly to blame for the need for more local currency to cover import bills for edible oils.
Edible Oil Prices At Historic High
The recent price hike of edible oils on the global market for a number of reasons, including the war in Ukraine, have forced local consumers to pay record prices for the item. Over 90 per cent of the annual requirements of oils and fats are met through imports. Palm oil and soya bean oil are the major edible oils consumed in the country. In 1995, the share of palm oil in the imported edible oil market in Bangladesh was only 10 per cent as the market was dominated by soybean. But palm oil staged a dramatic rise in late 1990s when local edible oil refineries, equipped with modern machinery and technical know-how, started producing and marketing refined palm olein. Since 2003, palm oil held the leading position among all edible oils consumed in the country.
Sustainability
However, the overall favourable trend in mustard cultivation may not sustain once the price of the palm and soya bean oils fall in the global market. The consumption of mustard may fall because of availability of soybean and palm oils at chap rates. The oil mill crushers will be able to market the items at a low price. This is the challenge the country’s farmers will face to sustain the production of mustard oil. Looking back, we can see how the local edible market became import-dependent. In the early 1960s, the country was self-sufficient in oils and fats. At the time, mustard oil was the most common oil consumed by the 7 crore people.
Look Back
Since the country’s independence in 1971, its farmlands have been used to grow food and cash crops. Production of oil seeds was neglected for the high benefit of growing staple amid frequent natural calamities like floods and droughts which reminded the famine in 1974 and the deluge in1988 affecting almost all districts. However, the mustard seeds remained the major source of raw material for producing traditional edible oil. But its production went down in the last decade mainly due to insufficient land. According to available data from Malaysian Palm Oil Council Office in Dhaka, the country imported 1,42,000 tonnes of mustard oil seeds in 2018 to meet the local demand after 1,25,000 tonnes of mustard seeds were produced that year. The rising demand for edible oils because of the growing population had led the businesses to import palm oil from Malaysia in the 1970s. The consumption of imported soybeans had begun a decade earlier in the 1960s. Palm oils, mainly imported from Malaysia and Indonesia, suffered some difficulties to maintain its share in the local market in the mid-1990s.
Edible Oils Market Dynamic
In 1995, the share of palm oil in the imported edible oil market in Bangladesh was only 10 per cent as the market was dominated by soybean. But palm oil staged a dramatic comeback in late 1990s when local edible oil refineries, equipped with modern machinery and technical know-how, started producing and marketing refined palm olein. Double fractionated olein, locally known as super olein, palm olein became a popular edible oil by 2000. In the year 2003, palm olein had clinched the leading position among all the edible oils consumed in the country.
Challenges
So, the sign of revival of mustard oil cultivation to substitute 40 per cent import as per target by the government by 2025 is still challenging. It depends on the policy required to contain the private oil seed crashers and international market price. The government needs active cooperation from the oil millers to promote mustard oil so that farmers feel encouraged to grow more mustard.
