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Castor oil best substitute for palm oil, say experts

ISLAMABAD: Castorseeds, having a vast business and export potential, need encouragement for cultivation both from the government and farmers in the country, agricultural experts said here on Monday.

According to them, castor is an oilseed and is grown in barren and rainfed areas with minnium inputs. Its oil can become an import substitute for palm oil as the price of castor oil is double when compared with the price of palm oil in the international market.

"Pakistan can import double quantity of palm oil from other countries in exchange for castor oil as the price of castor oil is double that of palm oil in the world market", experts said.

Castor oil, used in manufacturing of over 100 medicines and considered one of the best lubricants for aero-engines, fetches very high prices in the international market.

The price of castor oil is $1,000 per tonne, against the price of palm oil which is $500 per tonne, the experts said. "But, this precious crop is being neglected in our country", they added.

According to experts, the cultivation area of this crop which reached up to 45,900 hectares during 1978-79 has now come down to only 6,000 hectares due to negligence.

At present, the cultivation area of this crop is estimated at 4,000 hectares in Balochistan, 2,245 in Sindh and only 56 hectares in Punjab, the experts said.

The importance of this crop can be gauged from the fact that in late 1970s, Japan made an export demand of 50,000 tonnes of castorseed but Pakistan could produce only 25,000 tonnes at that time, the experts said.

Keeping in view the importance of this crop, the experts said, the government should offer incentives for farmers to promote the cultivation of castor in the barren and rainfed areas of the country, particularly in Sindh and Balochistan provinces.

The government can promote the cultivation of castor through development projects, by fixing targets, like other agricultural crops, and offering incentives to farmers, they said, adding that the country can capture the world's export market and earn huge amounts of foreign exchange through the export of castor oil.

The experts suggested that the introduction of improved varieties, coupled with better production technologies, are the key factors for assured rapid increase in castor production.

They said as the castor based industry does not exist in Pakistan and most of the castorseed is exported to other countries, the estbalishment of its industry in the country can help increase its consumption demand.

The experts also supported the involvement of private sector for the promotion and production of this crop on the same pattern as adopted by tobacco and sugarcane industries.

Public sector support, however, is essential for the establishment of a strong research base for solving production problems and providing technical facilities, they said.

The experts are of the opinion that the crops having industrial oils are the potential import substitution commodities. Therefore, this should be firmly taken up in the future strategy by Pakistan Oilseed Development Board (PODB).

They also stressed the need of strengthening the existing research work in this sector both in terms of manpower and funding.

According to the experts, the castor crop is gaining popularity among people as some of them have approached the Ministry of Food and Agricultural to seek technical guidance for the cultivation of this special crop.

A professor of physics from Gujar Khan, has approached the ministry of food and agricultural and shown his interest in the cultivation of castor, the experts said. He was also trying to acquire some 2,500 acres of land in Gujar Khan area for the cultivation of castor, which is indicative of the fact that this special crop has a huge business potential, both for the grower and the country, the experts said.

According to the experts, castor is an imporant industrial crop of the world with a total production of about 1.2 million tonnes castor beans annually and the leading castor producing countries are Brazil, India and China.

It is also grown in Mexico, Italy, Indonesia, Thailand, Ethiopia, Sudan, Paraguay and Pakistan. More than 36,000 tonnes of castor oil is imported into the United States annually from Brazil.

Other major castor oil importing countries are the leading industrialised countries include Russia and Japan, while major exporting countries are China, India and Brazil, the experts said.ÑAPP