India’s vegetable oil imports seen lower in 2024-25, industry group says
According to an industry group, India is expected to witness a decrease in vegetable oil imports to around 15 million metric tons during the 2024-25 season. This drop is attributed to the favorable weather conditions that are anticipated to enhance domestic production.
In the 2023-24 season concluding in October, India, the largest importer of vegetable oils globally, is reported to have brought in around 16 million tons, as stated by B V Mehta, the executive director of The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India. This volume marks a slight decrease from the 16.5 million tons imported in the preceding year.
Mehta mentioned to Reuters at the Indonesia Palm Oil Conference in Bali that the crop is projected to grow by 3 to 4 million tons, resulting in a surplus of a million tons despite the rising demand.
Mehta mentioned that the weather conditions this year have been conducive for Indian crops, leading to increased yields of soybean and groundnuts. Moreover, he anticipated a boost in rapeseed production as well.
In the fiscal year 2023-24, India’s projected palm oil imports stand at 9.2 million tons, showing a decrease from 9.8 million tons in the preceding year. Conversely, sunflower oil imports are expected to increase to 3.5 million tons from 2.9 million tons in the previous year.
Mehta noted that due to elevated palm oil prices this year, buyers have transitioned towards sunflower oil, despite palm oil representing 60% of India’s vegetable oils imports.
Mehta stated that due to price discounts, soft oils are poised to gain around 2% to 3% of the market share currently held by palm oil.
He mentioned that Malaysia has witnessed a significant surge of approximately 30% in the benchmark palm oil price since the beginning of this year. Moreover, he cautioned that any additional increment could potentially impact the purchasing power of consumers with lower incomes.
According to five dealers, India experienced a sharp increase of 59% in palm oil imports during October compared to the previous month, reaching a three-month peak. This surge was driven by refiners ramping up purchases to restock dwindling supplies due to reduced imports in preceding months and heightened festive demand.
