According to five dealers, India’s palm oil imports rose by 12.4% in May compared to the previous month, reaching the highest level in four months. This increase was driven by a recent correction in prices, which led to higher purchases.
India is the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils, and higher palm oil purchases could support the benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, which fell to their lowest level in more than three months in May.
Palm oil imports in May jumped to 769,000 metric tons, the highest since January, according to the dealers’ estimates. This increase was primarily due to higher margins, which prompted traders to increase refined palm oil purchases, rising to 214,000 tons from 124,228 tons the previous month, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader and broker GGN Research.
Crude palm oil (CPO) is currently offered at about $948 per metric ton, including cost, insurance, and freight (CIF), in India for July delivery, while soyoil and sunflower oil are offered around $1,028 and $1,035 per ton, respectively, according to the dealers. Two months ago, CPO was commanding a premium over the rival oils.
Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage, expects palm oil imports to remain robust even in June, with around 750,000 tons likely to land in the country.
In addition to the increase in palm oil imports, India’s sunflower oil imports in May jumped 74% from the previous month to 408,000 tons, as a few vessels whose berthing was delayed in April due to port congestion landed in May, according to the dealers. Soyoil imports, on the other hand, fell 16.5% in May to 322,000 tons.
The higher imports of palm oil and sunflower oil lifted the country’s total edible oil imports by 15% to 1.5 million tons in May.
India primarily buys palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.