India’s palm oil imports rose by 3% in June from the previous month, reaching the highest level in six months, as robust demand from refiners for upcoming festivals and the oil’s discount to rival oils drove higher purchases.
According to estimates from five dealers, India’s palm oil imports in June jumped to 788,000 metric tons, the highest since December. This was driven by several factors:
Buyers made purchases in anticipation of increased demand during the upcoming festival season.
Palm oil was priced around $80 per ton cheaper than other edible oils, making it an attractive option.
The CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage, Sandeep Bajoria, expects palm oil imports to rise further to 850,000 tons in July.
Crude palm oil (CPO) was offered at around $985 per metric ton, including cost, insurance and freight (CIF), in India for August delivery, while soyoil and sunflower oil were offered at around $1,065 and $1,050 per ton, respectively.
India’s sunflower oil imports in June also jumped 14% from the previous month to a record 467,000 tons. However, some vessels were unable to berth at the ports before the end of the month, so the actual imports could have exceeded 500,000 tons.
Soyoil imports, on the other hand, fell 16% in June to 273,000 tons.
The higher imports of palm oil and sunflower oil lifted India’s total edible oil imports by 2% to 1.53 million tons, the highest in 10 months.
India primarily imports palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it sources soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.