India reduced imports of sunflower oil by 22% in December

In December, India reduced its edible oil imports by 25% to a 3-month low of 1.19 million tons, including sunflower oil by 22% to 265 thousand tons and palm oil by 40% to a 9-month low of 503 thousand tons, as prices rose sharply, prompting processors to increase purchases of cheaper soybean oil, which imports rose by 3% to a 4-month high of 420 thousand tons.

Palm oil is usually sold cheaper than soybean and sunflower oil, but the reduction in stocks led to a sharp rise in its prices in November and December, as a result of which Indian importers began to actively purchase soybean oil. According to the brokerage company Sunvin Group, palm oil prices are currently $100 per ton higher than soybean oil, so Indian buyers will continue to reduce imports in January.

As expected, the Indian Oilseed Producers Association (SEA) will publish the import data for December by mid-January.

Recall that India buys palm oil mainly in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and soybean and sunflower oil – in Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia. Earlier it became known that the global palm and soybean oil sectors consider India as their main target market in 2025.

Tags: palm oil, imports, sunflower oil, soybean oil, soybean