Food deficit in the edible oil sector, self-sufficiency and the comparative advantage of Pakistan's edible oilseed crops

This paper evaluates the rationale of Pakistan's pursuit to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oil by estimating the comparative advantage of traditional as well as non-traditional edible oilseed crops. The paper demonstrates that Pakistan exhibits a comparative advantage in the production of oilseeds, which include: cottonseed, soybean, rapeseed/mustard, and sunflower. The paper supports the policy of edible oil self-sufficiency, as the use of domestically produced oilseeds is an economically efficient way of saving foreign exchange. The paper concludes that given the by-product nature of cottonseed the success of this policy relies on a major breakthrough in the production of other oilseed crops, such as, soybean, sunflower, and appropriate varieties of rapeseed and mustard. -Author