India’s palm oil imports fell to a five-month low in October.
India’s palm oil imports dropped to a five-month low of 600,000 tonnes in October as buyers shifted to cheaper soybean oil. Palm oil imports for 2024/25 fell 16% to a five-year low of 7.56 million tonnes. October edible oil imports fell 20.7%, though annual totals rose slightly to 16 million tonnes.
India’s palm oil imports fell to a five-month low in October, Reuters reported , citing five traders.
They said the decline in overall supply 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, a report said on November 4.
India’s palm oil imports fell 27.6% month-on-month in October to 600,000 tonnes, the lowest since May, according to dealer estimates.
In the 2024/25 marketing year that ended in October, the country’s palm oil imports fell 16% to 7.56 million tonnes , the lowest in five years, traders said .
Palm oil has lost market share to soybean oil after trading at a premium to other edible oils for several months, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner of edible oil trader GGN Research.
In October, India’s soybean oil imports fell by 17.1% compared to the previous month, reaching 417,000 tonnes. Dealers estimate that in 2024/25, soybean oil imports will increase by 61.6%, reaching a record 5.56 million tonnes .
According to dealer estimates, sunflower oil imports in October fell by 6.4% to 255,000 tonnes, bringing the total import volume 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 compared to the same period last year, driven by lower palm oil imports.
Edible oil imports in 2024/25 rose 0.3% year-on-year to 16 million tonnes, dealers said.
Edible oil imports fell in October as processors expected demand to decline in the coming months after the festive season rush, according to Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Mumbai-based edible oil brokerage Sunvin Group.
India purchases palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and imports soybean and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
It was previously reported that the price difference between Argentine and Black Sea sunflower oil reached $85 per ton.
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Source : Ukr Agro Consult
