India's untapped ricebran oil capacity sits at 1.2mt as SEA's Mehta calls for GST reform, milling upgrades, and R&D to cut edible oil imports.
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Around 70% of the world's ricebran oil potential remains untapped, according to BV Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India. Presenting the India country report at the International Conference on Rice Bran Oil 2026 in Bangkok on Thursday, he put global potential at roughly 8 million tonnes, with current production at 2.4 mt. That leaves another 5.55 mt of producible oil on the table across the globe, he said.
India and China are the two biggest producers. India makes about 1.1 mt of ricebran oil; China makes 0.74 mt. But India's own gap is wide. Mehta said the country is projected to produce 230 mt of paddy and 154 mt of rice in the 2025-26 season. That translates to an estimated 13.1 mt of ricebran, with the potential to yield nearly 2.3 mt of oil. Actual output is only about 1.1 mt, leaving an untapped domestic potential of roughly 1.2 mt.
The opportunity has widened over the past decade. Ricebran oil potential rose from 1.6 mt in 2016-17 to 2.3 mt in 2025-26. Actual production over the same period crept up from around 0.98 mt to just 1.1 mt. India is generating more ricebran, but a substantial part of its oil potential remains unextracted.
"Important that the world is made aware of the huge potential of untapped opportunity of 5.55 mt of rice bran oil, which needs to be fully explored," Mehta said.
Unlocking that potential requires a coordinated value-chain approach, he said. The economics of ricebran extraction and processing need to improve. Mehta called for bringing de-oiled ricebran under 5% GST and rationalising the GST on ricebran fatty acid distillate from 18% to 5%. Those changes could address tax distortions and the inverted tax structure that discourages processing, he said.
He also stressed the need for more research and development support for low-lipase paddy varieties, modernised rice-milling infrastructure, and incentives for bran stabilisation at the mill level. These steps could raise both the quantity and quality of bran available for oil extraction.
Value-added products from ricebran and ricebran oil could help farmers get better prices without raising the price of paddy, Mehta said. Increasing domestic ricebran oil production would also reduce India's dependence on imported edible oils, which currently covers roughly 55-60% of consumption.
India's commodities analysis sector has been watching the edible oil import bill closely. Higher domestic crushing from ricebran would cut into that import requirement, compress refining margins for import-dependent processors, and shift the supply balance for palm and soy oil imports.
The SEA's call comes as India's edible oil import bill remains elevated. Any sustained rise in domestic ricebran oil output would reduce the country's reliance on Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil, a dynamic the association has flagged repeatedly in its annual outlooks.
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