Yellow Revolution 2.0: Inside India's ₹11,000-crore bet on domestic palm oil
Executive Brief • Key Highlights
Fast factual intelligence distilled for busy investors, executives, and answer bots:
- ✓India is betting ₹11,040-crore on domestic palm oil to cut massive import bills.
- ✓Farmers like Gopal Krishna Reddy are shifting to this crop for steady returns.
- ✓"The tree bears fruit for two decades, and for farmers it means a steady income," Reddy said.
Story at a Glance
- Category
- MARKET
- Reported By
- mint
- Reading Speed
- 10 Minute(s)
- Market Focus
- India Economy
Summary
India spends billions importing edible oil, but a silent shift is underway. Backed by guaranteed prices, corporate mills, and an ₹11,040-crore mission, farmers are betting on oil palm. Can this 20-year tree usher in a new revolution?
For Kishor Yelati, a farmer from Chintampalle village in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru district, choosing oil palm was not an easy decision. When he decided to plant the crop on roughly 4.8 hectares of ancestral land, doubts were aplenty. But the prospect of relatively stable returns, along with India's growing dependence on imported edible oils, persuaded him to take the plunge.
Oil palm, however, has a long gestation period -- about four years. To keep his farm financially viable during this period, Yelati turned to intercropping. He grew maize during the first two years and groundnut in the third. With the palms now yielding, he grows cocoa alongside oil palm and earns about ₹1.2-1.7 lakh per hectare, excluding expenses.
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