India’s sunflower oil imports to slide to four-year low on price premium
India’s sunflower oil imports are set to fall about 10% in 2025/26 to a four-year low of 2.65 million tonnes, as higher prices push buyers toward cheaper palm oil. Rising Black Sea prices and ample palm supplies are reshaping import preferences.
Mumbai: India’s sunflower oil imports are expected to drop around a tenth in 2025/26 to a four-year low as a growing price premium over rivals pushes buyers toward cheaper alternatives, trade officials said.
As a result, the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils is likely to increase imports of palm oil, a shift that could help reduce inventories in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.
“With sunflower oil prices rising, India is now likely to import only enough to meet its core demand of around 200,000-225,000 metric tons per month,” said Aashish Acharya, vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd, a leading importer of edible oils.
Crude sunflower oil from the Black Sea region is currently being offered at about $1,420 a metric ton on a cost, insurance and freight basis for March delivery to India, compared with around $1,165 for crude palm oil and $1,255 for crude soyoil.
Acharya and four dealers with global trade houses estimated that India’s sunflower oil imports would drop to 2.65 million tons in the marketing year ending in October, down from 2.94 million tons a year earlier and marking the lowest level since 2021/22.
The dealers declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak to the media.
Russia and Ukraine account for more than two-thirds of global sunflower oil exports, but adverse weather in both countries tightened supplies and lifted prices in January to the highest level in more than three years, said a New Delhi-based dealer with a global trade house.
Argentina is offering sunflower oil at about $10 to $20 a ton cheaper than Black Sea supplies, following improved output, providing some relief for Indian buyers, a dealer said.
Sunflower oil is mainly consumed in India’s southern states, but consumers there are shifting toward palm oil, said a Mumbai-based dealer.
The trend was reflected in India’s palm oil imports in January, which jumped 51% from December, while sunflower oil imports fell 23%, according to dealers’ estimates.
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Source : The Economic Times
