MUMBAI: India’s palm oil imports in April fell by nearly a quarter from the previous month, marking the fifth consecutive month below normal levels, as the tropical oil’s premium over rival soyoil led to higher soyoil purchases, according to five dealers.
Lower-than-normal palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer of vegetable oils, could pressure Malaysian palm oil prices and support US soyoil futures.
Palm oil imports in April fell 24% month-on-month to 322,000 metric tons, according to estimates from dealers. India imported an average of more than 750,000 tons of palm oil each month during the marketing year that ended in October 2024, said the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, which is set to publish its April import data by mid-May.
Palm oil prices have been elevated due to tight supplies, which encouraged price-sensitive buyers to increase soyoil purchases, said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage. Traders have been opting for lower-priced soyoil for the past several months, and imports increased again in April, rising 2% month-on-month to 363,000 tons, dealers said. Sunflower oil imports, meanwhile, fell nearly 6% to 180,000 metric tons, the lowest in seven months. Lower imports of palm oil and sunflower oil lowered India’s total edible oil imports in April to 865,000 tons, marking an 11% drop from the prior month, according to dealers’ estimates.
Palm oil, however, has now started trading at a discount to soyoil, which is encouraging Indian buyers to increase palm oil purchases for shipments from May onwards, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader.
India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. Nepal’s edible oil imports were 85,000 tons in April, down from 135,000 tons in March, GGN Research estimated.
More than half of Nepal’s imports are ultimately destined for re-export to the Indian market as refined products since goods from the Himalayan country are tax-free under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), Patel said.
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