India, the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oil, is anticipated to increase its procurement of soyoil in 2024, while purchases of palm oil are likely to decline, as stated by a top dealer on Monday.
Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm, forecasts that India’s soyoil imports will increase to 4.3 million metric tons during the 2023/24 marketing year, up from 3.5 million tons in 2022/23.
Bajoria, speaking at the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference 2024, mentioned that palm oil imports are projected to decrease to 9.2 million tons in 2023/24, down from 10 million tons in 2022/23.
Traders report that negative refining margins in palm oil compared to positive margins in soyoil have led to a recent shift from palm oil to soyoil.
Reduced palm oil purchases by India might maintain high inventories in leading producers Indonesia and Malaysia, exerting downward pressure on benchmark futures.
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According to Bajoria, India’s sunflower oil imports are expected to hold steady at approximately 3 million tons for the ongoing marketing year. This would result in the country’s total vegetable oil imports remaining unchanged at 16.5 million tons in 2023/24 compared to the previous year.
“Overall, domestic production of vegoils is going to be around 10 million tons and imports will be at 16.5 million tons. So total consumption will be around 26.5 million tons.”
At present, domestic reserves of soybean, cottonseed, rice bran, and mustard oils are constraining India’s need for imports. Nonetheless, Bajoria anticipates an increase in palm oil imports from May to July.
Bajoria mentioned that the country is expected to import between 700,000 to 750,000 tons of palm oil per month in May, June, and July.
In January, India experienced a decline of over 12% in palm oil imports compared to the previous month, reaching a three-month low of 782,983 tons.
India primarily purchases palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, while acquiring soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.
Continue Exploring: Indian buyers pull back on palm oil purchases amid rising prices