Context:

In a significant move to strengthen bilateral relations, India and Malaysia have decided to enhance cooperation in the field of oil palm cultivation and other sectors. 

More on the news:

• This decision was made during a meeting between India's Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development, and Malaysia's Minister for Plantations and Commodities.
• The meeting focused on exploring opportunities to deepen agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

Key Areas of Cooperation:

• The two leaders also discussed the decision of India to ban the export of rice and sugar to ensure adequate supply in domestic markets.
•  Malaysia's Minister requested India to lift the export ban on rice and sugar to Malaysia and also emphasized the importance of ensuring an adequate supply of rice and sugar. 
• One of the primary areas of focus was the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm, an important project aimed at boosting oil palm cultivation in India. 
• Both sides discussed ways to address market access issues related to agricultural and allied products, emphasizing the need to institutionalize cooperation in the agricultural sector.
• Additionally, the ministers explored the potential application of digital technology in the plantation sector, recognizing its importance in improving efficiency and productivity. 

Palm Oil Production and Initiatives of India:

India is working on increasing its domestic production of oil palm to reduce its dependence on imports. The area under oil palm cultivation has been growing steadily in recent years.

• Area under cultivation: As of FY 23-24, about 4.5 lakh hectares (approx.) are under oil palm cultivation in India. There is a lot of growth potential, with the government estimating that around 28 lakh hectares of land in the country are suitable for oil palm cultivation.
• Production: The production of crude palm oil (CPO) in India during FY23-24 is nearly 4.0 lakh tonnes.

Government initiatives: The Indian government has launched the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) to boost domestic production of CPO. 

• The mission aims to increase the area under oil palm cultivation to 10 lakh hectares by 2025-26 and to 16.71 lakh hectares by 2029-30. 
• The mission also aims to increase CPO production to 11.20 lakh tonnes by 2025-26 and to 28.11 lakh tonnes by 2029-30.

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Kerala are major Oil palm growing States and account 98% of total production. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat and Mizoram have also sizable area under Oil palm cultivation.