India’s October Palm Oil Imports Drop to Five-Month Low

India’s palm oil imports fell sharply in October to their lowest level in five months, which pushed total purchases in the 2024–2025 marketing year to their lowest level in five years. Traders attributed the shift to buyers moving toward soybean oil after the recent rise in palm oil prices.

Lower imports by India, the world’s largest vegetable oil importer, could increase inventories at major producers such as Indonesia and Malaysia and put downward pressure on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.

Import Decline and Market Shift

• Palm oil: imports fell by 27.6% month on month in October to 600,000 metric tonnes, the lowest level since May. In the 2024–2025 marketing year ending in October, imports fell by 16% to 7.56 million tonnes, the lowest in five years.
• Consumer shift: Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader GGN Research, said palm oil lost market share to soybean oil after trading at a premium to other edible oils for several months.
• Soybean oil: imports fell by 17.1% in October from the previous month to 417,000 tonnes. However, soybean oil imports for the 2024–2025 marketing year rose by a record 61.6% to 5.56 million tonnes.
• Sunflower oil: imports fell by 6.4% in October to 255,000 tonnes, bringing full-year imports to 2.88 million tonnes, down 17.7% from the previous year.

Total Edible Oil Imports and Demand Outlook

Overall, India’s edible oil imports in October fell by 20.7% from the previous month to 1.27 million tonnes, mainly due to lower palm oil purchases. However, edible oil imports for the 2024–2025 marketing year rose by 0.3% year on year to 16 million tonnes.

Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage Sunvin Group, said edible oil imports declined in October as refiners expected demand to slow in the coming months after the end of the peak festival season.

India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soybean oil and sunflower oil are sourced from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.

Source: Reuters