DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, August 3. Tajikistan plans to increase vegetable oil production by 20 percent and reduce its imports by 7 percent in the coming years, the Minister of Industry and New Technologies, Sherali Kabir, announced during a press conference, Trend reports.
"Tajikistan currently meets just over 21 percent of the population's demand for vegetable oil. The expansion of production capacities is hindered by a shortage of raw materials," the minister said.
He pointed out that, according to nutritional standards, the population of Tajikistan requires over 150,000 tons of vegetable oil annually. The 72 enterprises engaged in oil production in the country can produce 25,000 to 30,000 tons per year. Modern oil plants operate in Dushanbe and Khujand, but most older plants need production line upgrades.
"To produce 100,000 tons of oil, approximately 833,000 tons of oilseed crops are needed, and Tajikistan cannot grow that much raw material," Kabir explained.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the area sown with cotton and oilseed crops is around 200,000 hectares. The annual cotton harvest exceeds 420,000 tons, while the combined harvest of oilseed crops like flax, safflower, rapeseed, sunflower, and sesame does not reach 100,000 tons, yielding about 25,000 tons of oil.