India’s annual palm oil imports to fall behind soft oils for first time, potentially impacting Malaysian palm oil prices
India’s palm oil imports are set to drop below soft oils for the first time as rising prices push buyers toward soy and sunflower oil, says SEA President Sanjeev Asthana. Imports may fall to 7.5 million tonnes in 2024/25, the lowest in five years. However, purchases could rise again if palm oil regains its price advantage.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — Palm oil’s share of India’s annual edible oil imports is set to drop below soft oils for the first time as its rising premium over soy oil and sunflower oil pushes refiners toward more affordable alternatives, the head of an industry body said.
Lower palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer of vegetable oils, could weigh on benchmark Malaysian palm oil prices and support US soy oil futures.
“Palm oil is getting pricey due to supply issues, so buyers are naturally shifting to soy oil and sunflower oil instead,” said Sanjeev Asthana, president of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), in an interview with Reuters.
The country’s palm oil imports in the 2024/25 marketing year ending in October 2025 could fall to as low as 7.5 million metric tonnes, the lowest in five years, said Asthana, who is also the CEO of Patanjali Foods Ltd.
Palm oil is losing market share to soft oils, which are projected to account for a slightly larger volume of imports, he said.
Palm oil accounted for 56 per cent of India’s total edible oil imports in the last marketing year, but in the first three months of the current year its share fell to 43 per cent, the SEA data showed.
Palm oil has been trading at a premium over rival oils for the past few months as supplies from top producers Indonesia and Malaysia were affected by floods at a time when Jakarta has also moved to increase the tropical oil’s use in biodiesel.
The current premium for palm oil is not sustainable, and once it begins trading at a discount, likely within two months, Indian buyers will increase their imports, Asthana said.
Soy oil imports in the current year could increase by 1 million to 1.5 million tonnes from last year’s 3.4 million tonnes, while sunflower oil imports may rise slightly from last year’s record level of 3.5 million tonnes, he said.
India meets nearly two-thirds of its vegetable oil demand through foreign sourcing. It buys palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while soy oil and sun oil come from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
The rising availability of local oils, which will help fulfil incremental demand, is expected to keep the country’s total edible oil imports steady at around 16 million tonnes this year, Asthana said.
To read more about Edible Oil News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : Malay mail
