Hyderabad: Instructing all the palm oil processing companies to complete establishing their processing units by the end of 2025, Agriculture minister Thummala Nageswara Rao has warned the managements of the companies that if they failed to do so, their permissions will be cancelled and their units will be given to Telangana Cooperative Oil Seeds Growers Federation Limited (TGOILFED).

During a review meeting he held with the palm oil companies in Hyderabad on Saturday, November 16, he said that oil palm was being cultivated across 64,040 hectares in the state presently, and that plantation of oil palms in 25,470 acres has been achieved, as against one lakh acres targeted for plantation in 2024-25.

He told the companies that every processing unit needed to have its own nursery, and oil palm varieties that would give higher yields and show resistance to Ganoderma fungal attacks needed to be cultivated in those nurseries.

He asked the companies to grow varieties that would grow less in height, and of high quality, which needed to be given to the farmers.

Pointing out that presently palm oil was fetching Rs 6,000 per tonne, he predicted that the price could soon go up to Rs 20,000 per tonne.