reuters news:
In India, rice bran oil is now trading at 147,000 Indian rupees ($1,879) per tonne.Humble rice bran becomes hot commodity as India scours for edible oils’
“It tastes good and is good for health as well .referring to the oil’s cholestrol-lowering and anti-oxidative properties.
Rice bran has become a sought-after commodity in India as the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils tries to overcome an edible oil shortage caused by global supply disruptions.
A by-product in rice milling, rice bran has been traditionally used for cattle and poultry feed. In recent years, oil mills have started extracting rice oil, which is popular among health-conscious consumers but historically more expensive than rival oils.
Rice bran oil accounts for a small portion of overall vegoil consumption in India but is one of the fastest-growing among edible oils, industry officials say, and production and imports are set to increase to meet the demand.
The recent rally in global edible oil prices fuelled by Indonesia’s restrictions on palm oil exports and disruptions to sunflower oil shipments from Ukraine has wiped out rice bran oil’s traditional premium over rival oils. That has triggered a surge in demand for bran oil which has similar taste properties to sunflower oil.
As sunflower oil imports plunged from Ukraine, consumers started replacing it with rice bran oil, said B.V. Mehta, secretary general of the International Association of Rice Bran Oil (IARBO). India usually fulfills more than two-thirds of its sunflower oil requirements through imports from Ukraine.
“Because of COVID-19, I was looking for healthier food options. I first used rice bran oil for health benefits six months ago and since then I’ve been using it,” said Aditi Sharma, a Mumbai-based homemaker, who switched to rice bran oil from sunflower oil.
In India, rice bran oil is now trading at 147,000 Indian rupees ($1,879) per tonne compared with sunflower oil at 170,000 rupees.
