Developing Value Chain for Castor as an Industrial Raw Material in India: Status, Challenges and Opportunities

Castor is an significant industrial non-edible oilseed crop grown in Gujarat and other states of India. It commands an indispensable place in several industries. India, with its 90 percent share not only becomes the world's largest producer of castor seed but also dominates in the international castor oil trade and supplies with 85-90% of the world's requirement of Castor Oil and its derivatives. China and many other countries import castor oil from India, convert it into derivatives, and sell them as high-value-added products internationally. There is a large scope for improving India's foreign exchange earnings from castor by converting castor oil into various derivatives. However, a lack of adequate infrastructure and value additions are a couple of factors that are also responsible for making India a weak player on the price front. Our study suggests that such anomaly can be corrected if the industry expands the market by developing castor oil derivatives and invests into the research and development substantially. Unanimous belief of stakeholders suggests that if the industry works as a more cohesive unit, India could soon be in a better position in this sector. With the World becoming more environmentally conscious and with the increasing replacement of synthetic products with naturally derived products, castor oil-based derivatives could find increasingly attractive markets worldwide which can fetch substantial amounts of foreign exchange for the country.