India’s June palm oil imports jump 60% to hit 11-month high

India’s palm oil imports jumped to an 11-month high in June as refiners ramped up purchases due to a price discount compared to rival soyoil and sunflower oil, and to replenish depleted inventories, an industry body said on Monday.

Higher palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer of vegetable oils, will help bring down stocks in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.

Palm oil imports in June rose more than 60% from May to 955,683 metric tonnes, the highest since July 2024, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) said.

Imports of soyoil decreased 9.8% to 359,504 tonnes and sunflower oil imports rose 17.8% to 216,141 tonnes, the industry body said.

Domestic vegetable oil stocks rose for the first time in seven months to 1.568 million tonnes on July 1, up from last month’s 1.33 million tonnes, which was the lowest level in nearly five years, it said.

Palm oil imports are likely to remain above 900,000 tonnes for the second straight month in July as the oil is available at a discount to rival oils, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader.

Soyoil imports would likely increase to approximately 450,000 tonnes in July, as vessels that were unable to unload at Kandla port in the western state of Gujarat during June were expected to discharge their cargo this month, Patel said.

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

In May, India halved the basic import tax on crude edible oils to 10% in a bid to reduce food prices and help the domestic refining industry.