More Stories

Informist, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026

 

--SEA: India imported more oilseeds than it exported in Apr-Jun 

--SEA: India Apr-Jun oilseed imports 580,119 tn while exports 209,197 tn 

--SEA: India Apr-Jun oilseed imports worth INR 31.5 bln, exports INR 26.2 bln 

 

NEW DELHI – India's oilseed imports rose significantly to 580,119 tonnes during the first three months of 2026-27 (Apr-Mar), mainly due to duty-free soybean imports from African countries. Oilseed imports in the first quarter of FY27 have already surpassed last year's total imports of 481,000 tonnes, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India said, citing data from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

 

Soybean was "overwhelmingly the largest component" of India's oilseed import basket. During Apr-Jun, soybean imports were at 550,000 tonnes, worth INR 29.31 billion, 96% of the total imports. "This was mainly imported from 'Least Developed Countries' (LDC) under the India-Africa Trade Agreement, at nil duty," SEA said. In FY26, soybean imports were 278,681 tonnes. 

 

"Imports are bridging the domestic production gaps," SEA Executive Director B.V. Mehta told Informist. Citing market information, he said soybean imports continued to grow sharply in Jul-Aug as well. Soybean production in 2025-26 (Jul-Jun) was nearly 12.6 million tonnes, significantly down from roughly 15.3 million tonnes in the previous year. In the ongoing kharif season, farmers have sown soybean over 12.2 million hectares, down from 12.3 million hectares a year ago, according to agriculture ministry data. 

 

"Sesame is a distant second but has a relatively higher share of import value compared with its volume," SEA said, adding that sesame seed imports were at 20,728 tonnes worth INR 1.89 billion during Apr-Jun. Most of it was sourced from Korea, Nigeria, Sudan, and Brazil. The association did not detail the oilseed trade data for the corresponding period last year for a year-on-year comparison.

 

India shipped in significantly more oilseeds than it exported in the first three months of the current financial year. Exports totalled only 209,197 tonnes and were mostly groundnut, SEA said. In terms of value, the import bill was INR 31.46 billion and exports were at INR 26.18 billion during the period.

 

 

"Groundnut remains India's most important oilseed export opportunity," SEA said, adding that the opportunity is not limited to raw kernels but processed groundnut products. In the first quarter, India exported over 133,860 tonnes of groundnut in different forms, including seed, shelled and de-shelled. These shipments were worth INR 15.50 billion and were mostly to Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, China and the Philippines. 

 

Sesame exports were important due to their relatively high value. "There is scope to expand markets for cleaned, machine-sorted, processed and value-added sesame, particularly where buyers demand consistent quality, traceability and food-safety compliance," SEA said, adding that INR 9.45 billion was earned by exporting 61,248 tonnes during Apr-Jun. "Mustard, linseed, safflower and other oilseeds currently represent smaller shares of India's export basket," SEA said.  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.