India reduced edible oil imports by 5%

Imports of edible oils – palm, soybean and sunflower – decreased by 5% to 8.67 million tons in the first seven months of 2023/24 (November-October) compared to the same period last oilseed year.

B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Indian Oilseed Producers Association (SEA), told FE that the decline in imports this year is due to high mustard and soybean harvests in the domestic market and rising world prices.

Imports of palm oil for the period from November to May (2023-24) amounted to 4.97 mln tons, which is 7% less than in the previous year. Soybean imports totaled 1.59 million tons, down 22% year-on-year, while sunflower imports were up 20% to 1.99 million tons this year.

While floods in Brazil and a workers’ strike in Argentina led to a sharp rise in global soybean oil prices, sunflower supplies from Russia and Ukraine declined due to the “dead season,” according to Mehta, prices for palm oil, which is the main imported product, remained more or less stable on the international and domestic markets.

Total edible oil imports in the current oilseed year are projected to decline to about 16 million tons from a record 16.47 million tons in 2022-23.

“The rise in sunflower and soybean oil prices has led to an increase in mustard seed prices, which exceeded the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 5,650 per quintal and exceeded Rs 6,200 per quintal, which is a positive signal to farmers to increase the area under oilseeds in the next kharif season,” the report said. – Meta asked.

As of June 1, India’s edible oil stocks, including stocks in ports and pipelines, totaled 2.41 million tons, down from 2.94 million tons reported a year ago.

Soybean oil was supplied from Argentina and Brazil, while sunflower oil was supplied from Russia and Ukraine.

India’s imports of edible oils – palm, soybean and sunflower – increased by 17% yoy to a record 16.47 million tons in 2022/23, helped by a reduction in import duties on oil to 5.5%, FA reports.

India imports about 58% of its total annual edible oil consumption, which is about 24-25 million tons. In terms of share in domestic production, the oils account for, in particular, mustard (40%), soybean (24%) and peanut (7%).

Earlier this year, the government last month extended for a year, until March 31, 2025, the lower import duties on palm, soybean and sunflower oils, which, according to industry representatives, will negatively affect the processing and prices of domestic oilseeds.

Due to record imports, domestic prices for edible oils such as mustard and soybean oils fell.

Prices for mustard oil and refined oil fell sharply by 8.59% and 10.89%, respectively, in May year-on-year, while overall inflation in the oils and fats category decreased by 6.71%.

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