India’s palm oil imports fell to a five-month low in October

In October, India’s palm oil imports fell to a five-month low, Reuters reports, citing five traders.

They say the decline in overall shipments was due to buyers switching to soybean oil following rising palm oil prices.

A reduction in palm oil imports by India, the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils, could lead to increased inventories in leading producers Indonesia and Malaysia and put pressure on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, according to a report dated November 4.

Dealers estimate that India’s palm oil imports in October fell by 27.6 percent from the previous month to 600,000 tonnes, the lowest since May.

Traders say the country’s palm oil imports in the 2024/25 marketing year, which ended in October, fell by 16 percent to 7.56 million tonnes, the lowest in five years.

Palm oil has lost market share to soybean oil after trading at a premium to other edible oils for several months, according to Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trading firm.

In October, India’s soybean oil imports fell 17.1% from the previous month to 417,000 tonnes. Dealers estimate that soybean oil imports in 2024/25 will rise 61.6% to a record 5.56 million tonnes.

Dealers estimate that sunflower oil imports fell 6.4% in October to 255,000 tonnes, bringing total imports for the year to 2.88 million tonnes, down 17.7% from the previous year.

According to the report, India’s total edible oil imports in October fell by 20.7% to 1.27 million tonnes year-on-year, driven by lower palm oil imports.

According to dealers, edible oil imports in 2024/25 are expected to increase by 0.3% year-on-year to 16 million tonnes.

According to Sandeep Bajoria, executive director of Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based edible oil brokerage, edible oil imports declined in October as refiners anticipated lower demand in the coming months following the festive season rush.

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

Previously, the price differential between Argentine and Black Sea sunflower oils was reported to have reached $85 per tonne.

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