Vegetable oil being the common means of cooking, oilseeds are likewise important, as are the pulses. The principal oilseeds include groundnuts, rapeseeds and mustard seeds. While the former is a kharif crop, depending wholly upon reasonable but timely rainfall, the latter is a rabi crop, fundamentally confined only to non-irrigated areas. As a result their production as well as productivity is subject to climatic variations and market hypotheses. The other oilseeds incorporate sesame, linseed, caster seed, safflower seed, soyabeans, sunflower seeds, cotton seeds and copra. Rapeseeds and mustard seeds belong to the wheat belt of north and central India. Groundnut, on the other hand, is grown in west and south India. Gujarat is the dominant producer of groundnut. While population has been mounting at 2% per annum, the demand for oil has been rising at 5% every year.

In the year 1950-51, area under groundnut was 4.5 million hectares. By 1996-97 it shot up to 7.8 million hectares. And production too rose to 9 million tonnes from 3.4 million tonnes. The same is true of produce per hectare, which stood at 1155 kg per hectare, against the figure of 775. The story of rabi oilseeds, namely rapeseed and mustard is likewise heartening. The region during this period rose to 6.8 million hectares from mere 2 million hectares, and production from 0.7 million tonnes to almost 7 million tonnes- a ten times ascend. The yield also increased from 368 kg to 1013 kg per hectare. The overall production of nine oilseeds rose to nearly 25 million tonnes by 1996-97. In order to reduce imports of palm oil, plantation of oil palm trees is now being undertaken on a larger scale.