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India's sunflower oil imports fell in September to their lowest level in more than four years after the war in Ukraine disrupted shipments, prompting refiners to lift palm oil purchases to a seven-month high, according to estimates from five dealers.
Based on the dealers' average estimates, sunflower oil imports dropped 36% month-on-month to 103,000 metric tonnes in September, the lowest since April 2022. Palm oil imports, by contrast, rose 3.5% from the previous month to a seven-month high of 810,000 tonnes, while soyoil shipments fell 4.6% from the prior month's record to 600,000 tonnes.
India's total edible oil imports declined 3.75% to 1.5 million tonnes, weighed down by lower arrivals of sunflower oil and soyoil.
The Solvent Extractors' Association of India is expected to release official September import data by mid-October.
'Even in October, sunflower oil imports will remain low because of logistical constraints,' said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at Rajkot-based trading firm GGN Research.
The war in Ukraine has damaged port infrastructure on the Black Sea, complicating sunflower oil shipments to India despite strong demand. India buys most of its palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soyoil and sunflower oil come mainly from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
Refiners stepped up palm oil purchases to build inventories ahead of India's festival season, which runs from September to November, when edible oil demand typically peaks.
Source: Reuters