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Concerns over India's soybean and maize supplies were raised this week in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's Parliament), highlighting the gap between domestic production and rising demand. MP Kaushalendra Kumar (Unstarred Question No. 4369) sought clarification on the adequacy of domestic output, the possibility of imports from the United States, and the potential impact on Indian farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare reported that India achieved record production levels in 2024-2025, reaching 15.18 million tonnes of soybean and 42.28 million tonnes of maize. However, domestic production of vegetable oils – including soybean oil – remains insufficient to meet growing demand. As a result, India relies on imports to cover nearly 55% of its total vegetable oil requirements.
Over the past decade, soybean production has risen by 46.32% (up from 10.37 million tonnes in 2014-2015), while maize output has climbed 74.91% to reach 42.28 million tonnes. Despite these gains, vegetable oil consumption continues to outpace production, prompting the government to take steps to boost self-sufficiency. Under the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oilseeds (NMEO-Oilseeds), 10,103.38 crore rupees has been allocated to raise oilseed production from 42.6 million tonnes in 2024-2025 to 69.7 million tonnes by 2030-2031.
The government noted that although India has historically been a net exporter of maize, its exports in 2024-2025 were very limited due to pressure from domestic demand. Discussions are currently underway as part of a bilateral trade agreement between India and the United States to expand trade and strengthen supply chain integration, while keeping national food security and farmers' interests in mind.
Programmes such as the National Food Security Mission (NFSM) also provide farmers with improved seeds, advanced technologies, and access to Minimum Support Prices (MSP), in order to encourage soybean and maize cultivation.