India’s palm oil imports experienced a significant decline in March, reaching their lowest level in 10 months, as soaring prices prompted refiners to substitute palm oil with sunoil. This shift resulted in sunoil imports reaching the second-highest level on record, according to a statement from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
The reduction in palm oil purchases by India, the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils, may potentially limit the upward momentum in benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, which are currently trading near their highest levels in a year. Meanwhile, the surge in sunflower oil imports is expected to contribute to reducing sunflower oil inventories in the Black Sea region.
In March, palm oil imports fell by approximately 2.5% from the previous month, totaling 485,354 metric tons, marking the lowest volume since May 2023. B.V. Mehta, executive director of the SEA, attributed this trend to declining palm oil stocks in producing countries, which drove prices higher and prompted Indian buyers to switch from palm oil to sunflower oil.
The surge in sunflower oil imports in March, reaching about 50% and totaling 445,723 tons, represents the second-highest level on record, as reported by the SEA.
Furthermore, the surge in sunflower oil and soyoil imports contributed to lifting India’s total edible oil imports in March to the highest level in six months, reaching 1.149 million tons, reflecting an 18.8% increase from the previous month.
India primarily sources palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.