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Informist, Wednesday, Sep 4, 2024

 

By Anjali Lavania

 

MUMBAI – After bulking up stocks in July, importers slowed down their purchases of edible oil in August and that is likely to reflect in the import data for the previous month. India's imports of edible oil are likely to fall around 24% on month to 1.43 mln tn in August, according to the Sunvin Group data. Sunvin Group is a consulting company with a strong research in oil and oilseeds trade and industry. 

 

 

In July, India's vegetable oil imports had risen 7% on year to 1.89 mln tn, according to the data from the Solvent Extractors' Association of India. The vegetable oil basket comprises edible and non-edible oils. Imports of vegetable oils consisted of 1.84 mln tn of edible oils and 55,014 tn of non-edible oils in July, the association said. The edible oil year runs from November to October. The edible oil import basket comprises crude and refined palm oils, crude soyoil, and crude sunflower oil.

 

"In July, palm oil imports were amongst the highest in the country since Nov 2022," Sunvin Group Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Bajoria told Informist. The bumper stocks of edible oil in July made refiners cut down their purchases of crude palm oil in August, Bajoria said.

 

According to Sunvin Group, crude palm oil imports in August are estimated to have fallen 31.4% to 626,424 tn. Currently, palm oil which usually trades at a discount to other soft oils is being offered at the same price as soyoil and sunflower oil for September shipments, he said. "Crude palm oil imports in the months of September and October will not be more than 600,000 tn each," Bajoria said.

 

India's crude sunflower oil imports are estimated to have fallen 5.2% to 283,908 tn from 299,641 tn in July, according to Sunvin Group. However, according to Sunvin Group data, August soyoil imports are estimated to be at 430,000 tn. Imports of crude soyoil were at 391,791 tn in July, according to the SEA data.  

 

Currently, prices for September shipments of crude palm oil, sunflower oil and soyoil are at $1,035 per tn, including cost, insurance and freight, Bajoria said. "Import prices for all three oils are the same, with crude palm oil prices going up and weakening its demand," he said. Lower imports by India--one of the largest edible oil importers--will increase the palm oil stocks in Malaysia and Indonesia, the top producers of palm oil, he said.  

 

Prices for August shipments of sunflower oil were at $995 per tn, including cost, insurance and freight; crude palm oil at $990 per tn; and crude soyoil at $990 per tn, including cost and freight. In July, shipments of sunflower oil were at $1,050 per tn including cost, insurance and freight, crude palm oil at $970 per tn and crude soyoil at $1,050-$1,070 per tn, including cost and freight.

 

The Solvent Extractors' Association of India is scheduled to release its figures for imports of edible oil by Sep 15. India imports palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, while soyoil and sunflower oil are imported from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, and Russia. End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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