According to a trade association’s report on Monday, India witnessed a significant surge in palm oil imports during July. The imports rose by 59% compared to the previous month, reaching a total of 1.08 million metric tons. This figure marks the highest import level in the span of seven months. Refiners capitalized on the favorable drop in prices to boost their buying activities.
Increased imports from India, the globe’s largest purchaser of vegetable oils, could contribute to reducing stockpiles and providing support to Malaysian prices, which in turn would benefit the primary producers Malaysia and Indonesia.
The Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) reported that imports of soyoil experienced a decline of approximately 22% to reach 342,270 tons, while imports of sunflower oil saw a significant increase of 71%, totaling 327,259 tons.
According to dealers, India’s edible oil imports reached an all-time high of 1.76 million tons in July. Refiners boosted their stockpiles in preparation for upcoming festivals due to uncertainties surrounding supplies from the Black Sea region.
A Mumbai-based dealer from a global trade house mentioned that the price difference between crude palm oil and crude soyoil expanded to more than $150 per ton. This led refiners to shift towards palm oil.
“This trend would continue even in coming months. We are expecting around 1 million tons of imports in September,” the dealer said.
In a statement, the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) projected that the nation’s aggregate imports of edible oil for the marketing year concluding on October 31, 2022/23, could surge to an unprecedented 15.5 million tons.
India primarily procures palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Additionally, the country imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.