India's vegetable oil imports rose to 913,179 tonnes in July, the highest level since November, on account of peak demand for the festive season when many Indians cook feasts, and tapering local supplies.
Vegetable oil imports in August were 23.2 percent lower than the 1.1 million tonnes in the same month a year ago, said the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association of India in a statement.
A Reuters survey had forecast average imports of 860,875 tonnes in August with a range of 797,000-919,000 tonnes.
Palm oil imports, which share the bulk of the imports, rose by about 2 percent in August over the previous month, while soyoil imports fell by 68 percent.
Traders said last month's rise in palm oil imports was due to five percent lower export tax by Indonesia, the world's top producer, while the decline in soyoil imports was due to its widening premium over rival palm oils. "It was cheaper to import palm oil than soyoil last month," said Pradip Desai, a Mumbai-based trader. India, the world's top vegetable oil importer, buys mainly palm oils from Indonesia and Malaysia, and small quantities of soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.
Vegetable oil imports in the November-August period were 6.6 million tonnes, down 7 percent from a year ago period, the trade body data showed.
Copyright Reuters, 2011