Lang
India's vegetable oil imports fell 16% in July 2025, driven mainly by a sharp drop in palm oil shipments, according to data from the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA). The country imported 1.548 million tonnes of vegetable oils last month, down from 1.840 million tonnes in July 2024.
The decline followed the government's decision on 31 May 2025 to widen the import duty gap between crude palm oil and refined palm oil from 8.25% to 19.25%, which discouraged importers from buying refined oil. As a result, imports of refined palm oil collapsed to just 5,000 tonnes in July, compared with 163,000 tonnes in June 2025 and 136,000 tonnes a year earlier.
Crude palm oil imports also fell, to 851,000 tonnes from 937,000 tonnes a year earlier. India relies mainly on Malaysia and Indonesia for its palm oil supplies. Similarly, imports of crude sunflower oil dropped to 200,000 tonnes, down from 367,000 tonnes in July 2024.
Imports of non-edible oils also fell, to 31,000 tonnes compared with 55,014 tonnes in July 2024. Overall, total vegetable oil imports (edible and non-edible combined) dropped 17% to 1.579 million tonnes, down from 1.895 million tonnes a year earlier.
Meanwhile, soybean planting in India has also contracted during the Kharif season. According to the Soybean Processors Association of India, the area sown stood at 115 million hectares, down from 118.32 million hectares in 2024.
The soybean crop is currently considered to be in normal condition, but output will depend heavily on weather conditions over the next two months. The government has set the minimum support price for soybean at 5,328 rupees per quintal for this season.
Source: Al Mal Forum