India is stockpiling soybean oil to secure cheap supplies.
Indian buyers booked over 150,000 tonnes per month of soybean oil for April–July 2026, betting on rising palm oil prices from Indonesia’s planned B50 biodiesel policy. Discounts versus palm oil and fears of sunflower oil shortages also drove advance purchases.
Indian buyers have placed large volumes of soybean oil orders for April to July 2026 in anticipation of rising palm oil prices.
Traders bought more than 150,000 tonnes of South American soybean oil per month during the period, according to a December 1 report citing Aashish Acharya, vice president of Patanjali Foods, one of the country’s largest buyers of vegetable oil.
He added that the volume of orders was driven by an average discount of $20–$30 per tonne of soybean oil compared to palm oil during that period. Soybean oil typically sells at a premium compared to palm oil.
The increase in orders from India also reflects market expectations that palm oil prices will rise due to plans by the world’s largest producer, Indonesia, to increase the share of palm oil in biofuels starting in the second half of 2026, the report said.
“This is a significant supply volume in the coming months as the market anticipates a palm oil shortage next year due to reduced production and increased consumption following the implementation of the B50 standard in Indonesia,” said Mayur Toshniwal, president and head of sales at Emami Agrotech, an Indian company that processes vegetable oil and biodiesel.
Indian buyers have been making advance purchases of soybean oil in anticipation of Indonesia’s B50 policy, according to Budiman Suwardi, head of treasury and markets at Prime EcoHarvest Commodities.
“If the Indonesian government suddenly decides to implement the B50 in the second half of next year, it could lead to higher palm oil prices due to reduced export supplies,” he said.
Traders are not only hedging against Indonesia’s biodiesel policy but also bracing for a possible shortage of sunflower oil supplies, as crop declines in the Black Sea region and Europe could lead to lower production this season, according to Anilkumar Bagani, head of research at Sunvin Group in Mumbai.
According to Acharya, the cost of sunflower oil supplies from the Black Sea region was US$230-250 per tonne higher than the cost of South American soybean oil supplies for the same four-month period.
Despite this, palm oil currently costs around US$90-100 per tonne less than soybean oil, highlighting the price differential and encouraging cost-sensitive Indian traders to switch to palm oil in the near term, Acharya add
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Source : Ukr Agro Consult
