Meet on cottonseed stresses steps to strengthen edible oil security

The need to explore the untapped potential of cottonseed and its byproducts to strengthen the country’s edible oil security, livestock feed industry and rural economy was stressed at the sixth ‘Cottonseed, Oil and Meal Conclave-2025’ jointly organised by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) and the All-India Cottonseed Crushers’ Association (AICOSCA) in Vijayawada on Saturday.

The two-day conclave themed ‘Revitalising Cottonseed: Growth Pathways for Oil, Meal, and Beyond’ has a well-curated series of sessions and panel discussions, covering the entire cottonseed ecosystem, including cotton cultivation, post-harvest practices, innovations in oil extraction, livestock feed formulations, nutrition, smart packaging, branding, risk management, and market forecasting.

Besides, discussing themes such as ‘Cotton 360°,’ ‘Tech Frontiers in Processing,’ and ‘Cottonseed Oil’s role in Modern Nutrition’, the conclave also witnessed presentation of the Shri Nilesh Patel Innovation Awards, celebrating breakthrough innovations by researchers and students that enhance cottonseed utilisation, sustainability and nutritional value.

Ponnur MLA Dhulipalli Narendra, MLA inaugurated the event that attracted over 300 delegates, including leading scientists, industry experts, policymakers and traders, who deliberated on enhancing cottonseed usage, particularly in the edible oil and livestock feed sectors. The forum addressed the alarming decline in cotton acreage, down 9.8% in 2024–25 and underscored the urgent need to optimise the value derived from cottonseed.

Chairman of AICOSCA Sandeep Bajoria said cottonseed oil is one of the most popular cooking oils in kitchen and it is used as a yardstick for measuring the flavour as well as odour qualities in other edible oils. He said it is also one of the main ingredients in most oriental dishes. “Cottonseed meal is an excellent feed meal ingredient and the conclave is focusing on propagating the use and value of cottonseed oil, advancing processing technologies, and promoting cottonseed-based products,” he said.

Executive Director, SEA, B.V. Mehta said the current production of cottonseed oil is about 11.5 to 12.0 lakh tonnes per annum. “However, the potential is about 18.0 lakh tonnes. This will also help meet our growing requirement of edible oil and reduce the dependence on import,” he said.

CEO of Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of India, Roop Rashi, Director of 3F Limited, Tadepalligudem, Andhra Pradesh, O.P. Goenka, Vice-Chairman, AICOSCA and Director of Sri Dhanalakshmi Cotton & Rice Mills Pvt. Ltd., Guntur, P. Veera Narayana, Director, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai, S.K. Shukla, vice-president, SEA Angshu Mallick and others participated.