Palm oil imports into India during the 2024-25 oil year, November-October, reached a five-year low, while soybean oil imports reached a record high. According to the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), rising palm oil prices and relatively low soybean oil prices have completely changed import trends.
Palm Oil Imports decreased by 16% and Soybean oil imports surged 59%
According to the SEA report, India’s palm oil imports dropped by 15.9% to 7.58 million tonnes in 2024-25, the lowest since 2019-20. Decreasing palm oil demand in India, the world’s largest vegetable oil importer, could put pressure on inventories in significant producing countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, which is also likely to impact Malaysian palm oil futures prices. During the same period, soybean oil imports increased by 59% to an all-time high of 5.47 million tonnes. Meanwhile, sunflower oil imports declined by 16.3% to 2.9 million tonnes. Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) Executive Director B.V. Mehta said that palm oil prices remained higher than soybean oil for most of the year, forcing refiners to shift to soybean oil.
Total vegetable oil imports increased slightly
India’s aggregate vegetable oil imports increased from 16.23 million tonnes to 16.36 million tonnes in 2024-25, that is a slight increase. However, the share of palm oil in this import has steadily declined. This year, palm oil’s share shrank to 47%, compared to 56% last year. In contrast, the combined share of soybean and sunflower oil increased to 53%, compared to 44% earlier. B V Mehta reported that refined vegetable oil imports from Nepal climbed to record levels, as the SAFTA agreement allows imports from there at zero duty. India purchased 74.64 thousand tonnes of refined soybean and sunflower oil from Nepal, the highest ever. Notably, India imports palm oil primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia, whereas soybean oil comes from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and the United States. Sunflower oil is primarily imported from Russia, Ukraine, and Argentina.
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