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New Delhi – September 15, 2026 – India's vegetable oil imports fell 4.71% in August to 16.09 lakh tonnes, down from 16.94 lakh tonnes in the same month a year earlier, as palm oil shipments declined amid rising global prices and a weaker rupee that inflated the cost of imported edible oils, according to the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA).
The industry body attributed the monthly contraction to elevated international prices, which discouraged buyers, compounded by a softer rupee against the US dollar that made dollar-denominated purchases more expensive for Indian importers.
On a cumulative basis, for the November-August period of the 2025-26 oil year, total vegetable oil imports rose 4% to 138.8 lakh tonnes, compared with 133.37 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year, SEA said in a statement.
The monthly dip underscores the sensitivity of Indian demand to global price swings and currency movements. India remains one of the world's largest importers of vegetable oils and depends heavily on overseas supplies to meet its domestic edible oil requirements.
Source: PTI via Mid-Day