India’s food regulator has pushed back against label-driven denigration of cooking oils, even as palm oil imports nearly double and the government’s domestic production mission falls significantly behind target
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Thursday cautioned against what it described as growing “name-calling” in the edible oil industry, stating that no cooking oil should be labelled a dietary “villain” amid rising debate around palm oil consumption and processed foods.
Speaking at a PHDCCI conference, FSSAI officials and agriculture policymakers called for a more evidence-based approach to discussions around edible oils, particularly palm oil, which remains central to India’s food economy and import bill.
“Nutrition is a holistic concept. It cannot be achieved by name-calling or by elevating one nutrient as a hero while branding another a villain,” said Alka Rao of the FSSAI.
“In the edible oil sector, there is currently a great deal of name-calling on labels. We are trying to portray one type of oil or ingredient as a villain,” she added, noting that extensive stakeholder consultations are under way before any new regulations are introduced.
The regulator emphasised that existing Indian food regulations do not designate one type of oil as superior to another, stressing that “the catch lies in perception and communication”.
The remarks come at a time when packaged food companies are increasingly using “low palm oil” and “palm oil-free” claims in branding and advertising, amid heightened consumer scrutiny of saturated fats and ultra-processed foods.
Import Dependence Deepens
India remains the world’s largest importer of edible oils, bringing in nearly 16 million tonnes annually, according to Rishi Kant, Additional Economic Adviser at the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
Palm oil alone accounts for nearly 8 million tonnes of imports and continues to dominate consumption due to its relatively lower price and widespread use in packaged foods, snacks and commercial cooking.
Kant noted that India’s dependence on imported edible oils has become strategically significant amid geopolitical uncertainty and volatility in global commodity markets.
He added that the debate around palm oil should move away from “perception-driven narratives” towards “scientific and balanced policy thinking”, linking edible oil consumption directly to economic resilience.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier remarks on “rationalising” excessive edible oil consumption, Kant described the issue as “nothing less than economic self-defence”.
Cooking oil prices have also risen sharply over the past year. According to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), palm oil prices increased by 14–15 per cent compared with April 2025 levels, while soybean and sunflower oil prices rose between 17 per cent and 22 per cent.
The association also flagged the depreciation of the Indian rupee—down over 9.2 per cent against the US dollar—as a major contributor to rising import costs, calling the currency slide “a cause for concern”.
SEA data showed that India’s vegetable oil imports rose 13 per cent to 7.94 million tonnes during the first six months of the 2025–26 oil year, driven largely by higher palm oil shipments. In value terms, imports during the November–April period rose to Rs 87,000 crore from Rs 73,000 crore a year earlier. Palm oil imports climbed to 3.97 million tonnes from 2.74 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Domestic Palm Oil Targets Lag
India has long sought to reduce its dependence on imported palm oil through a state-backed cultivation push, but the programme remains well behind schedule.
The National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), launched in 2021, aimed to bring an additional 6.5 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation by 2025–26 and increase crude palm oil output to 11.20 lakh tonnes by that year and 28 lakh tonnes by 2029–30.
By November 2025, only 2.50 lakh hectares had been added under the mission, taking total oil palm coverage to 6.20 lakh hectares. Crude palm oil production has risen from 1.91 lakh tonnes in 2014–15 to 3.80 lakh tonnes in 2024–25—still only a fraction of domestic demand, according to a Niti Aayog report.
An assessment presented by Atul Chaturvedi, Chairman of the Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA), at an international palm oil conference in 2025 projected that by 2030, India would add only 0.75 million hectares of new plantations. Domestic crude palm oil output is expected to reach just 1 million tonnes—well below the programme’s original targets—even as consumption continues to rise rapidly.
India has so far utilised less than 20 per cent of its estimated oil palm cultivation potential, which agricultural research body ICAR-IIOPR places at nearly 28 lakh hectares across 22 states.
The country sources the bulk of its palm oil imports from Indonesia and Malaysia. Indonesia’s palm oil exports to India were valued at USD 6.66 billion in 2022, declining in subsequent years before demand picked up again in early 2025.
Labelling Rules and New Framework
FSSAI said it is preparing draft guidelines for human intervention studies related to nutritional claims. The framework is expected to go live via the ePass portal from 1 June, offering food companies a structured pathway to seek approval for health-related product claims.
Rao also highlighted India’s progress in reducing industrial trans fats, noting that the country is among the leading nations to bring industrial trans fats below 2 per cent of total fat content, a benchmark set by the World Health Organisation.
