Introduction of Ghee/Oil Industry
G hee industry was introduced in the sub continent in mid thirties, and since then it has grown tremendously in face of all environmental hazards. It has been subjected to serious edible Oil shortages, government inconsistent policies and severe variations between demand and supply in the domestic market.
The country which was self sufficient in edible Oil production (0.154 million MT), till 1960, and paying not a single dollar against the import bill, is today importing well over 1.160 million MT against an import bill of no less that Rs.33000 million per year, being the third largest edible Oil importing country of the world, after China and the European Union. All these imports originated from Malaysia.
During the past 21 years of interrupted and partially half hearted efforts of successive governments since 1979, the country has been able to procure only 0.5 million MT of edible Oil from indigenous resources while the rest of the 1.1 million MT is procured from imports.
The structure of Ghee/Oil industry is just like all the other developing industries of Pakistan. There are certain well-established companies working with good brand names, serving the nation as a whole. Along with them there are certain units, which are working in limited areas, meeting the requirements of these niche markets. Some of the vegetable Ghee mills are working under the control of government and other are held privately.
The raw material required for the production of Ghee/Oil is imported from different countries and this is the biggest imported item in food category. The prices of Ghee/Oil are very much influenced by the duties on these imports and the international price fluctuations of these items.
In early 1990’s there had been a serious crisis in the Ghee industry, and the main reason for this was that production of Ghee was greater than the demand. In this period due to the heavy looses on account of these