India has extended a quarantine until may 3 that puts pressure on prices of vegetable oils

the Government of India decided to continue the quarantine restrictive measures until at least may 3, despite the complaints of millions of the poor who are left without means of subsistence. According to the Prime Minister of the country, despite significant economic losses,preference is given to rescue of life of citizens, and the experience of recent days confirms the correctness of the chosen path. For regions where cases of disease, constraints soften, and in the environment, industry and agriculture will receive a new recommendation.

As of April 14, the country has infected more than 10 thousand people, of whom 358 died. However, experts believe that infected much more, but do not know about them due to the lack of tests. Therefore, the abolition of quarantine may cause a new wave of infections and derail the weak health system of the country.

most from the extension of the quarantine affected the demand for palm oil, the main consumers of which are restaurants and hotels, whereas private consumers prefer higher-quality sunflower, soybean or rapeseed oil.

the demand for palm oil will accelerate the tightening of the regime of import of refined palm oil, as announced on Monday, as India tries to protect its own processors of imported raw materials.

the Commerce Ministry of India has ordered importers to conclude agreements on pre-procurement and to demonstrate three years ' experience of import to obtain permission to import from the government.

restrictions reduced imports of refined palm oil since the beginning of the year at 66%, while import of crude palm oil that is not subject to these restrictions, only decreased by 12%.

the Continuation of quarantine in India will further reduce global demand for vegetable oils, therefore, the quotations of palm and soybean oil reacted to the news by falling.

Futures on palm oil in Malaysia Friday fell by 2.8% to 2250 ringgit/t or 519,6 $/ton and futures for soybean oil in the U.S. – by 3% up to $600/t

in addition to the vegetable oil markets under pressure from the decrease in oil prices. The price of Brent crude oil yesterday fell 6% to 29.14 $/barrel and WTI crude oil – by 6.6% to 20.11 $/barrel, despite the historic agreement on production cuts between OPEC countries and other oil producers.

the World's oil reserves are growing, and 10-15 days all the backup vault will be filled, which increases the uncertainty in the market.

bid Prices shashnikova Ukrainian oil rose to 725-730 $/t FOB, while the bid price does not exceed the $700/MT FOB. The closure of the Indian market will reduce demand, so prices will continue to fall under pressure from neighboring markets, soybean and palm oil.