India-bound sunflower oil cargoes face cancellation, delays as war disrupts Russian shipments
- Black Sea port attacks are causing critical delays in sunflower oil shipments to India, pushing the nation to secure more palm oil
MUMBAI: A shipment of Russian sunflower oil bound for India was cancelled and other cargoes have been delayed after attacks on Black Sea ports disrupted exports from India’s top supplier, an industry official and trade sources said.
A 20,000-ton shipment of Russian sunflower oil bound for India was “washed out” after the supplier was unable to deliver it because of damage to port infrastructure in the Black Sea region, Sandeep Bajoria, president of trade body the International Sunflower Oil Association, told Reuters.
Washouts, or cancellations, are rare in the sunflower oil trade, and have not been reported in many years.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also delayed about 60,000 tons of sunflower oil bound for India, prompting Indian buyers to step up palm oil purchases ahead of the festival season, trade sources said.
Russian sellers are now seeking to ship sunflower oil from Baltic Sea ports such as St Petersburg and Ust-Luga as shipments from the Black Sea have become more difficult, the sources said.
India’s sunflower oil imports hit four-year low on Black Sea disruption; palm oil rises
“Shipping from Baltic ports means higher freight costs and an additional 10 days of voyage time,” Bajoria, who is also CEO of Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage Sunvin Group, told Reuters.
“But there is no other option, as Black Sea infrastructure is crumbling because of the war.”
India seeking palm oil as sunoil stocks tighten
India, which meets almost all of its sunflower oil demand through imports, needs about 250,000 tons of imports a month, but October shipments could fall to 160,000 tons due to delays in loading in Russia and Ukraine, said a New Delhi-based dealer.
Sunflower oil stocks have already been depleted due to below-average imports in recent months, and with demand for edible oils expected to rise during the upcoming festival season, India has been turning more to palm oil.
Russia steps up sunflower oil exports to China as war disrupts India trade
India bought 150,000 tons of crude palm oil in just three days this week for November and December shipment for delivery to both the east and west coasts, the sources said. It imported an average of about 632,000 tons of palm oil a month during the year to October 2025
Higher palm oil purchases by India could help draw down stocks in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.