Peanut to perk up

A looming harvest shortfall will likely keep prices firm

Despite being high in oil and protein content, groundnut (peanut) has lost out to other oilseeds in the complex, such as soyabean and canola in the global oilseed market in recent years.

Support in terms of policy, investment and research for this oilseed has declined. No wonder, global peanut production has been languishing at around 39-40 million tonnes in recent years, a mere 8 per cent of aggregate world oilseeds production versus, say, soyabean that accounts for a whopping 60 per cent. Foreign trade in meal is 6.5-7.0 million tonnes while that in oil is about 5.5 million tonnes. Trade in kernels is negligible at about 2.5 million tonnes.

Not just in the world market, in India too, groundnut has lost its pride of place among major oilseeds. Until the late 1990s, groundnut oil used to be the kingpin among edible oils and held a major share in the country’s vegoil basket; but not any more as its production has slipped far below that of rapeseed oil and soyabean oil.

Use of groundnut meal or de-oiled cake as animal feed has also shrunk around the world, including in our country, because of the problem of aflatoxin, a carcinogenic fungus that colonises the kernels.

As food safety standards tighten steadily, it is necessary for the processing and consuming sectors to be aware of aflatoxin contamination and take remedial measures such as detoxification to address the problem. Because of its high dependence on the south-west monsoon, groundnut production in kharif season has fluctuated from year to year depending on spatial and temporal distribution of rains, while rabi harvests have held fairly steady at 15-16 lakh tonnes.