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India experienced a significant 30% reduction in its edible oil imports during June 2026, primarily driven by decreased shipments of palm oil and soybean oil. According to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), the country imported 1.11 million metric tonnes (mt) of edible oil in June 2026, compared to 1.60 million mt in June 2025.
BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA, explained that this decline was predominantly caused by a collapse in palm oil demand, with imports reaching 487,000 mt in June 2026, down from 546,000 mt in May 2026 and 952,000 mt in June 2025.
Mehta further noted that soybean oil imports also decreased to 380,000 mt in June 2026 from 493,000 mt in May 2026. He attributed this drop to the vanishing price discount of palm oil against soft oils (such as soy), which fell to under $50 per tonne.
He added that the dip in Indian purchasing is a ripple effect of simultaneous biofuel mandates introduced by Indonesia, Malaysia, and the US. These policies are diverting millions of tonnes of vegetable oils from the food economy into the fuel economy, thereby driving up global spot prices.
Despite the June decline, cumulative edible oil imports for the first eight months of the 2025-26 oil year (November-October) remained higher than the corresponding period of the previous year. India imported 10.39 million mt of edible oil between November and June of the 2025-26 oil year, against 9.73 million mt in the previous oil year, marking a 7% growth.
Refined oil imports from Nepal continued at substantial levels. Nepal exported approximately 338,000 mt of refined oils to India during November-April 2025-26, including 297,000 mt of refined soybean oil, 19,911 mt of refined sunflower oil, 18,295 mt of RBD palmolein, and 3,081 mt of rapeseed oil. Nepal's refined oil exports to India were estimated at around 54,000 mt in May 2026 and 32,000 mt in June 2026, primarily consisting of refined soybean oil, alongside smaller quantities of sunflower oil and RBD palmolein. Nepal benefits from nil import duty under the SAFTA agreement for exports to India.
India imported only 368,000 mt of refined oil and 10.02 million mt of crude edible oil during the first eight months of the 2025-26 oil year, compared to 1.50 million mt of refined oil and 8.23 million mt of crude edible oil in the corresponding period of the previous oil year. The ratio of refined oil sharply decreased to 4% from 15%, while crude oil's ratio increased to 96% from 85% a year ago, driven by a rise in crude palm oil imports.
Crude palm oil was the largest imported oil category at 4.94 million mt during the first eight months of the 2025-26 oil year, followed by crude and refined soybean oil (3.27 million mt), and crude and refined sunflower oil (2.09 million mt).
Malaysia exported 1.98 million mt of palm oil to India, comprising 1.96 million mt of crude palm oil (CPO) and 8,000 mt of RBD palmolein. India imported 1.90 million mt of palm oil from Indonesia, which included 1.88 million mt of CPO and 24,983 mt of RBD palmolein.
Argentina exported 1.85 million mt of crude soybean oil and 485,000 mt of sunflower oil to India during the period. India also imported 48,650 mt of crude soybean oil and 988,000 mt of sunflower oil from Russia.
Mehta stated that smaller quantities were imported from Thailand, Brazil, Ukraine, China, Nepal, the UAE, and other countries, indicating a diversified sourcing pattern across various edible oils.
A comparison of current edible oil prices with those from a year ago (June 2025) reveals that CPO prices increased by 17%, RBD palmolein by 18%, soybean oil prices by 14%, and sunflower oil prices by 19%. Mehta also noted that the Indian Rupee depreciated by over 11% in the last year, a development he termed a cause for concern for Indian importers and refiners.
Source: BusinessLine