Indian refiners shift to soyabean oil in May as palm oil loses price advantage
India’s May edible oil imports rose 2.6% to 1.3 million tonnes. Soybean oil imports jumped 38% to 497,000 tonnes, while sunflower oil fell 32.3% to 294,000 tonnes. Palm oil imports rose to 551,000 tonnes but remained below average, reflecting weaker demand and narrowing price advantages.
Refiners in India shifted to soyabean oil in May as palm oil’s price advantage over competing oils narrowed, according to five dealers quoted in an Economic Times report.
India’s soyabean oil imports surged 38% month-on-month in May to 497,000 tonnes, the highest level in five months, while sunflower oil shipments fell 32.3% to 294,000 tonnes, the 2 June report said.
Despite the switch, palm oil imports increased modestly in May from the previous month’s four-month low but remained below average, the 2 June report said.
According to dealer estimates, palm oil imports rose to 551,000 tonnes in May, from 513,403 tonnes the previous month.
Lower than usual imports of palm oil by the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils could increase stocks in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and weigh on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, the Economic Times wrote.
India’s overall imports of edible oil rose 2.6% from April to 1.3M tonnes in May, as soyabean oil purchases jumped, estimates showed.
The figures excluded duty-free shipments arriving via land from Nepal, the dealers said.
India’s monthly palm oil imports averaged about 632,000 tonnes in the marketing year ended October 2025, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), which was due to publish May import data by mid-June.
The country’s palm oil imports had stayed below average as cooking gas shortages had curbed demand from restaurants and other bulk consumers, Aashish Acharya, vice president of leading palm oil importer Patanjali Foods was quoted as saying.
Soyabean oil imports jumped in May as the commodity’s premium over palm oil narrowed to about US$40/tonne, boosting its appeal among refiners, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at trader GGN Research.
According to Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm Sunvin Group, palm oil will need to trade at a steeper discount to soyabean oil to revive demand.
To Read more about Edible Oil News continue reading Agriinsite.com
Source : OFI Magazine
