India boosts palm oil imports as prices fall

India, the world’s largest importer of palm oil, is accelerating its purchases after a sharp drop in prices made the commodity more attractive than soybean oil. The price move has already supported Malaysian palm oil futures, which have fallen nearly 10% since the start of 2025.

“Indian millers have suspended palm oil imports due to high prices,” Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of brokerage Sunvin Group, said earlier. Now that palm oil is trading below soybean oil, fresh orders are being placed, the company said.

Market sources say the crude palm oil (CPO) price for delivery to India in May is around US$1,050 per tonne (including cost, insurance and freight), while the crude soybean oil price is hovering around US$1,100 per tonne.

Palm oil imports have slowed significantly since December 2024, when the price gap between palm oil and soybean oil exceeded $100 per tonne. India imported 1.57 million tonnes of palm oil between December and March, averaging just under 385,000 tonnes per month. An additional supply of about 350,000 tonnes was expected in April. During the previous marketing year ending October 2024, India imported more than 750,000 tonnes of palm oil per month on average, according to the Seed Oil Exporters Association of India (SEA). Official data for April is expected by mid-May.

With inventories tightening, analysts forecast a sharp rise in palm oil imports – more than 500,000 tonnes in May, 600,000 tonnes in June and potentially more than 700,000 tonnes per month from July to September.

India usually buys palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soybean and sunflower oils are imported from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

According to OleoScope, the EU FOB soybean oil price for May delivery was $1,157.63/t on 02.05.2025, while the Brazil FOB soybean oil price was $1,065.65/t. The palm oil price (FOB Malaysia) for May delivery was $980.08/t.

Tags: prices, India, palm oil