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Informist, Tuesday, Mar. 11, 2025

MUMBAI – India's vegetable oil imports fell 7% on year in February to 899,565 tonnes, data released Tuesday by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India showed. The imports consisted of 885,561 tonnes of edible oils and 14,004 tonnes of non-edible oils, the association said. Edible oil imports fell 8% on year in February.

"The recent drop in vegetable oil imports has been cushioned by high stock levels accumulated in India up to November 2024, which have now dropped below 2.0 million tonnes. The rapid depletion of stocks is expected to drive increased purchases, particularly of palm oil. Over the past few weeks, crude palm oil prices have strengthened slightly relative to landed costs in the Indian market. However, weak price competitiveness in the global market may limit Indian palm oil imports in the near term," the association said in a release.

Total vegetable oil imports during the first four months of edible oil year 2024-25 (Nov-Oct) were 4.8 million tonnes, up 4% from 4.6 million tonnes in the same period last year, the association said in a release. India is the world's largest importer of edible oils, and its basket comprises crude and refined palm oils, crude soyoil, and sunflower oil.

Crude palm oil imports fell nearly 26% on year to 265,600 tonnes in February, marking the lowest import in four months. "The high price premium on palm oil has reduced both imports and consumption in recent months, leading to a sharp increase in the combined consumption of soybean oil and sunflower oil," the association said in a release.

"The growth in vegetable oil consumption is expected to slow down in 2024-25," the association said.

Imports of refined, bleached, and deodorised palmolein fell 14% on year to 107,949 tonnes in February. Crude palm oil imports during Nov-Feb were down 37% from a year ago at 1.4 million tonnes, while refined, bleached, and deodorised palmolein imports in the same period were down nearly 26% at 588,241 tonnes.

On the other hand, crude soyoil imports during February increased to 283,737 tonnes from 172,936 tonnes a year ago. Crude soyoil imports during Nov-Feb rose to 1.6 million tonnes from 664,339 tonnes same period last year.

Crude sunflower oil imports fell to 228,275 tonnes in February from 297,092 tonnes a year ago, the association said. Soft oil imports consisting of soyoil, sunflower, mustard, and others rose to 2.7 million tonnes during Nov-Feb from 1.6 million tonnes in the same period a year ago.

During Nov-Feb, India imported palm oil and refined, bleached, and deodorised palmolein from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soyoil from Argentina, Brazil, Iraq, Turkey, Ukraine, and Russia. Sunflower oil was imported from Russia, Ukraine, and Argentina. Indonesia was a major supplier of palm oil to India during November to February.

Indonesia and Malaysia are the biggest suppliers of refined, bleached, and deodorised palmolein and crude palm oil to India. During Nov-Feb, India imported from Indonesia 639,522 tonnes of crude palm oil and 503,531 tonnes of refined, bleached, and deodorised palmolein. Crude palm oil imports from Malaysia in Nov-Feb were 625,901 tonnes and refined, bleached, and deodorised palmolein were at 74,902 tonnes.

In the case of crude soyoil, during Nov-Feb India imported from Argentina 1.0 million tonnes, 274,423 tonnes from Brazil and 146,347 tonnes from Russia. Crude sunflower imports were 745,027 tonnes from Russia, 268,090 tonnes from Ukraine and 56,200 tonnes from Argentina during Nov-Feb in India.

In Nov-Feb, India imported 1.0 million tonnes of crude soyoil from Argentina, 274,423 tonnes from Brazil, and 146,347 tonnes from Russia. Crude sunflower imports during Nov-Feb were 745,027 tonnes from Russia, 268,090 tonnes from Ukraine, and 56,200 tonnes from Argentina.

The following table details import figures of edible oils in February, in tonnes, compared with year-ago levels with the change in percentage, according to data from the SEA:

End

Reported by Anjali Lavania

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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