Global oils & fats event held first time in India

Sharath Chowdary | The Dollar Business

A UK based magazine Oil & Fats International (OFI) ) organised an international event OFI India 2016 for the first time in India at Hyderabad. The event runs for two days, 13th and 14th April at Hyderabad International Convention Centre, Hyderabad. Addressing the media on the occasion, Mark Winthrop-Wallace, Sales Manager, Quartz Business Media said, “OFI 2016 is a wonderful opportunity for those involved in the edible oils and fats sector to learn, debate, network and to gather in an international environment to do business.”

“OFI exhibition and conference is a biennial event that takes place globally at various potential cities for edible oils and fats sector. Last time it was organised on 13-14 May 2014 at Istanbul in Turkey. This is the first time we are organising in India but we understand the country’s potential in this sector. So now we are planning to host the event every year here. OFI 2017 will be held again in Hyderabad at the same venue on 7-8 April 2017,” informed Nikunj Vishwakarma, Sales Executive, Quartz Business Media.

Explaining the reasons for choosing India as a venue for this global event, Nikunj said, “India is a growing hub for oils and fats as it is the world’s largest edible oil importer and the second most populous nation in the world, with over 1.2 billion people. It imports roughly around 11 million tonnes per year of edible oil, against domestic production of 7-8 million tonnes per year.”

“The country consumes approximately 19 million tonnes per year of edible oil. The government aims to increase domestic production of oils from 7.06 million tonnes to 9.51 million tonnes by the end of 2016-17 by increasing the oilseed area and productivity. India offers enormous growth potential from a business perspective to international companies through its rapidly developing markets and infrastructure projects,” he added.

One of the participants in the exhibition, Anik Roy, Marketing Head of Mectech Process Engineers said, “Instead of consuming edible oil from the domestic market, most of the companies import it from Ukraine due to a misconception that it is costly to manufacture here. Government should focus on Make in India to increase the production of edible oil and to decrease the import of oils and fats from other countries.” 

To create awareness and to provide technical knowledge on domestic production of oils and fats, a smart short course on ‘Critical issues in crushing, refining, processing, product and formulation and packaging’ has also been organised along with the international exhibition and business conference on ‘Fostering market growth and facing challenges in the Oils and Fats industry’.