India cut vegetable oil imports to a 16-month low in October

India cut edible oil imports to a 16-month low in October as rising inventories forced refiners to reduce purchases of palm, soybean and sunflower oils.

A reduction in purchases by the world's main importer of vegetable oils will lead to an increase in palm oil stocks in the main producing countries - Indonesia and Malaysia, which will increase the pressure on quotations. This, in turn, will reduce the prices of soybean oil in the USA and sunflower oil in the Black Sea region.

Compared to September, the import of vegetable oils to India in October decreased by 33% to 1 million tons, which is the lowest figure since June 2022. In particular, the import of palm oil decreased by 14% to a 4-month low of 715 thousand tons, sunflower oil - by 47 % to a 7-month low of 158,000 tons, soybeans - by 63% to 134,000 tons, which is the lowest indicator since January 2021.

From July to September, India sharply increased its imports of edible oils to 5 million tonnes, but demand was insufficient to cover imports. As a result, oil stocks on October 1 increased to 3.6 million tons (2.6 million tons last year), which forces refiners to reduce purchases now, - reports the SEA association, which promises to publish data on imports in October by mid-November.

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, and soybean and sunflower oil - from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. However, the increase in the offer of domestically produced oil crops reduces the need for the import of edible oils.

In the 2022/23 financial year (which ended on October 31), the import of edible oils to India increased by 17% compared to the previous season to a record 16.5 million tons, including palm oil by 24% to a record 9.8 million tons, sunflower oil by 24% to a record 9.8 million tons 55% to a record 3 million t, while soybean oil fell 12% to 3.67 million t, as sunflower oil has sold significantly cheaper than soybean oil in recent months.