MUMBAI: India’s palm oil imports fell 27 percent to a one-year low in April, as sluggish demand from institutional buyers and a recent price rally that eroded its discount to rival oils prompted refiners to curb purchases, five dealers said.
Lower imports by the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils could increase stocks in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and weigh on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.
Palm oil imports fell to 505,000 metric tons in April, the lowest since April 2025, down from 689,462 tons in March, per dealer estimates. Soyoil imports rose 24 percent month-on-month in April to 355,000 tons, the highest in four months, while sunflower oil shipments more than doubled to 435,000 tons, the highest in 22 months.
India’s overall edible oil imports rose 10.4 percent from March to 1.3 million tons in April, the highest since January 2026, as sunflower oil and soyoil purchases jumped, estimates showed.
The figures exclude duty-free shipments arriving via land borders from Nepal, the dealers said.
The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India is set to release its April import data by mid-May.