Tracing Trade Strengths: An Analysis of Indian Oilseeds in the Global Market

Abstract

Aims: To analyze India’s competitiveness in global oilseed market and to find out its comparative advantage in major oilseeds. Study Design:  This paper investigates India’s oilseed sector competitiveness by utilizing Revealed Comparative Advantage and Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage indices. Place and Duration of Study: The study drew data from the International Trade Centre (ITC) for 2014 - 2023 Methodology: Data were retrieved from the International Trade Centre (ITC) for seven major oilseeds narrowed down to groundnuts, soybeans, sesamum seeds, mustard seeds, sunflower seeds, copra, castor oilseeds.  Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) index, along with Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) index, were utilized in assessing the trade performance and determining India's relative position among the global oilseeds exporters. The RCA assists in understanding if a country possesses a comparative edge in exports of a given product and, in contrast, the RSCA captures asymmetry in trade data and provides balanced interpretation. Results: The analysis thus conducted demonstrates that India continues to have a strong relative comparative advantage in the exports of groundnuts (0.83), castor oilseeds (0.89), copra (0.89) and sesame seeds (0.75), while moderate advantage for export of mustard seeds (0.54). Nonetheless, the country is facing challenges with competitiveness for soybeans (-0.98) and sunflower seeds (-0.95) because of the country's self-sufficiency and high import dependency. Conclusion: Although India is one of the leading global producers of oilseeds, increasing domestic consumption, inefficiencies in oil extraction, and growing oil imports have made the country increasingly reliant on imports. As far as enhancing the global competitiveness of sunflower and soybean exports, This study recommends India should work on growth in productivity, work to lower supply chain dependency on imports, and open up more markets through trade reforms. Also, improving processing infrastructure will align with international quality standards, resulting in value exports. This will enhance India’s standing in the international oilseed market.