In July, India’s palm oil and soyoil imports surged to their highest levels in nearly a year, driven by refiners ramping up purchases in anticipation of festive demand and a recent correction in prices. According to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), palm oil imports rose by over 37% from the previous month, reaching approximately 1.1 million metric tons—the highest since August 2023.
Soyoil imports also saw a significant increase, climbing 42% to 391,791 tons, marking the highest level in 13 months. Conversely, sunflower oil imports decreased by 21.3% to 366,541 tons. Overall, total vegetable oil imports jumped 22.2% in July to 1.9 million tons, which is the second highest on record.
The surge in imports was largely due to preparations for the upcoming festival season, although it led to congestion at Kandla port, resulting in berthing delays of 8 to 10 days. Consequently, vegetable oil stocks in India rose to 2.9 million tons, the highest level in eight months.
India primarily sources palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, while soyoil and sunflower oil are imported from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine. Looking ahead, it is expected that vegetable oil imports in August will moderate to around 1.5 million tons as traders begin to limit purchases of palm and sunflower oils.