India increased vegetable oil stocks to the maximum

According to the Vegetable Oil Exporters’ Association of India (SEA), vegetable oil stocks in the country reached 2.1 million tonnes at the end of April, the highest in 15 months, compared to 1.35 million tonnes a year ago, Reuters reports.

The increase in stocks was the result of significant vegetable oil imports in April, reaching 1.36 million tonnes, 32% higher than last year and the second-highest monthly volume on record. At the same time, domestic consumption has recently declined due to higher vegetable oil prices, driven by the weakening of the Indian rupee (which fell to a historic low against the US dollar).

In particular, sunflower oil imports into India have more than doubled in a year, reaching 434,000 tonnes in April from 211,000. Palm oil imports in April exceeded last year’s low of 514,000 (322,000) tonnes, but were the lowest in the past 12 months due to deteriorating price competitiveness compared to other vegetable oils. Malaysia became the largest supplier of palm oil to the Indian market. Soybean oil purchases totaled 400,000 (491,000) tonnes.

Tags: sunflower oil, soybean oil, India, palm oil, stocks