India boosts vegetable oil imports amid depleting stocks
India’s vegetable oil stocks fell to 1.7 million tonnes by late October 2025, down 0.7 million tonnes year-on-year, creating conditions for higher imports in November–January. October imports dropped 9% to 1.35 million tonnes, with lower palm oil arrivals but higher soybean and sunflower oil volumes. January–October imports totaled 13.55 million tonnes, slightly below 2024, though analysts expect increased buying soon amid low inventories and shifting supply patterns.
According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics ( DGCI ), India’s vegetable oil stocks fell to 1.7 million tonnes by the end of October 2025—0.7 million tonnes lower than the same period last year. According to OilWorld (Germany) , this will create the preconditions for increased oil imports between November 2025 and January 2026.
According to SEA (Sector Edible Oils Association of India) estimates , imports of five key vegetable oils fell to 1.35 million tonnes in October 2025. This is 9% lower than in October 2024, and down from 1.67 million tonnes in September 2025. A detailed breakdown of the key oils:
- Palm oil : imports decreased to 595 thousand tons (in September - 835 thousand tons , in October 2024 - 867 thousand tons ).
- Soybean oil : deliveries totaled 465,000 tons (September – 550,000 tons , October 2024 – 397,000 tons ), including 25,000 tons from China. This is the first purchase of soybean oil from China since the beginning of the year; in 2024, such deliveries were absent for 10 months.
- Sunflower oil : imports reached 261 thousand tons (September - 275 thousand tons , October 2024 - 195 thousand tons ).
- Rapeseed oil : 10 thousand tons were imported from Russia in October.
For the period from January to October 2025, total vegetable oil imports to India are estimated at 13.55 million tonnes , slightly lower than the 2024 figure of 13.89 million tonnes . Palm oil supplies from Indonesia and Malaysia decreased by 1.2 million tonnes due to rising prices. As a result, total palm oil imports amounted to 6.47 million tonnes, compared to 7.48 million tonnes for the same period in 2024. Soybean oil imports increased to 4.70 million tonnes, with Argentina (2.1 million tonnes) and Brazil (907,000 tonnes) being the largest suppliers. Sunflower oil imports reached 2.38 million tonnes (3.13 million tonnes in 2024), of which 1.11 million tonnes were supplied from Russia (1.59 million tonnes in 2024).
Analysts therefore predict that, amid low inventories and volatile import dynamics, India is likely to step up its vegetable oil purchases in the coming months to ensure domestic market stability.
Previously , it was reported that India imported 1.39 million tonnes of soybean oil from April to June 2025
, 40% more than the same period last year. Indian importers continue to diversify their supply markets, with price levels remaining a key factor in this process.
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Source : Ukr Agro Consult
