COIMBATORE: The Solvent Extractors' Association of India has appealed to the State Government to provide uninterrupted power supply to the oil industry, which is classified as a continuous processing sector.

President of the association Ashok Sethia said at a press meet here on Wednesday that efficiency of the units in the State had slumped by 40 per cent because of the power cut. Apart from the two hours of scheduled load shedding every day and peak hour restrictions, the units faced power cut at least four times in an eight-hour shift. Oil industry should be treated as an essential commodity sector, he said. Tamil Nadu was the largest producer of copra. Huge coconut plantations were coming up in the State and a number of crushing units were present near Pollachi and Kangeyam. The government should remove the tax on copra, he said.

The Union Government should encourage production of oil seeds. Several farmers were switching over to crops such as cotton and pulses. The government should give incentives for oil seed production. The country used to be nearly 90 per cent sufficient in edible oil. However, now, 55 per cent of the domestic needs were imported. Per capita consumption of oil was increasing. As much as 86 lakh tonnes of edible oil, worth Rs. 28,000 crore, was imported between November 2008 and October 2009. This was expected to go up this year.

Mr. Sethia added that oil palm, which was a rich source of vegetable oil, should be declared as a plantation crop by the State Government. The Union Government had identified eight lakh hectares as suitable for palm cultivation. Of this, just about a lakh hectare was under palm cultivation now. Declaring it as a plantation crop would encourage entrepreneurs and foreign investment in oil palm cultivation and increase the oil production.

Courtesy - Hindu