Description
Groundnut is an oilseed derived from the fruit of the groundnut plant. It is referred to as a nut in general terms but it is not a nut exactly in actual terms, it is a seed rather and is also known by the name of peanut. The groundnut plant is an annual plant herb that comes from the pea family of Fabaceae. The plant has feather type leaves; yellow flowers and grows a legume shaped fruit that has 2 to 3 seeds which develops inside the earth. Also, oil is obtained from the groundnut seeds that is an excellent source of vitamin E, various fatty acids and carbohydrates and is largely used as a cooking medium, lighting fuel and food constituent.
Overview
Groundnut is considered to be the one of the most important oilseed crops in the world. It is grown in over 100 countries of the world and plays a crucial role in the world economy. The seeds are a good source of edible oil and proteins present in the groundnut oil cake. The percentage of oil and protein are extracted from the seed are approximately 55% and 28% respectively. The oil cake meal left after the extraction of the oil is used as an animal fodder and fertilizer. The peanut oil is primarily needed as a cooking agent but it also has some industrial uses like in paint, varnish, lubricating oil, soap, furniture polish etc. the peanut seeds are also consumed directly in roasted form, as butter, in brittle and candies etc.Groundnut production has reached the mark of around 34 million tons. China followed by India is the largest producer of this oilseed crop in the world. The groundnut oil production hovers around 8 million tons annually. These two countries are also responsible for the highest consumption of groundnut. The list depicting the major groundnut consuming countries is given below

  • China
  • India
  • Nigeria
  • United States
  • European Union

Except European Union, all the countries lie in the list of major groundnut producing countries as well. European Union countries are the largest consumer of groundnuts where the crop is not produced. The major demand i.e. around 75% comes from the food sector and the rest from other sectors.
As European union is the largest consumer of the oilseed where it is not produced, it has to rely on imports and that makes the countries in the union the largest importers of groundnut. The trade done in the world in the context of groundnuts is estimated to about 1 lakh tons per year. The leading groundnut exporting countries are

  • Argentina
  • Senegal
  • Nigeria
  • India
  • United States
  • China
  • Vietnam
  • South Africa