Edible Oil Consumption: How much oil do Indians consume in a year?

May 14, 2026 એબીપી અસ્મિતા

Edible Oil Consumption: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a public meeting in Telangana, made a special appeal to the countrymen to reduce the consumption of edible oils. PM Modi not only said that he should not eat less oil, but also said important things like not buying gold for a year, saving fuel and avoiding foreign trips. In India, mustard seeds, soybean, groundnut and palm oil are mainly used for cooking, from which a major part of palm oil is imported. The speed at which the amount of oil on our plate is increasing in the circle of taste has now become a matter of serious concern not only for the health but also for the economy of the country

The graph of consumption of edible oils in India has gone up very fast in the last few decades. As per government data, average consumption of Edible Oil per capita in India in the year 2022-23 was 19.50 litres

This figure is astonishing because it shows how much the average Indian prioritizes taste over his health. If we look at the figures a few years ago, it seems that this trend is continuously increasing, which does not augur well for the future.

This change not only reflects our changing lifestyle but also opens the door to a growing attraction towards junk food and fried food. Our traditional cooking has now slowly shifted towards more oily modern food.

Data from recent years shows that oil consumption has seen stability or increase rather than decline. The per capita consumption of oil in 2014-15 was 18.3 litres

subsequently increased to 18.7 litres per capita in 2020-21. In a span of just two years between 2020-21 to 2022-23, it has increased by about 0.80 litres which proves that the use of oil is not decreasing despite claims of awareness

The most commonly used palm oil in Indian kitchens is not produced by India itself, but it has to be imported in large quantities from other countries. Besides palm oil, mustard and soyabean oil are also widely used<>

A big reason behind the Prime Minister's appeal is also economic, because the more oil we consume, the more foreign exchange will be spent on imports. It has also become very important to curb the consumption of oil to save foreign exchange and reduce the current account deficit><

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