India increased vegetable oil imports by 9.3% in March, but sunflower oil supplies fell to a 6-month low

According to preliminary data, imports of edible oils to India, after falling in February to a 4-year low, grew by 9.3% to 968 thousand tons in March, in particular soybean oil - by 24% to 352 thousand tons, palm oil - by 13.2% to 423 thousand tons, while imports of sunflower oil decreased by 15.5% to a 6-month low of 193 thousand tons due to a sharp increase in its prices.

Palm oil imports remain lower than usual for the fourth consecutive month, as its prices exceed those of soybean oil, which processors have begun to actively purchase.

According to the Oilseeds Association of India (SEA), in the 2023/24 MY (which ended in October 2024), India imported an average of over 750,000 tons of palm oil each month.

But for several months now, palm oil prices have remained higher than soybean prices, which is reducing demand, say experts at GGN Research, a company that trades edible oils.

According to OleoScope estimates, in the first 6 months of the current season, the Russian Federation increased its sunflower oil exports by 9% to 2.51 million tons, of which 1.07 million tons were purchased by India.

According to Agroexport, in the current season, almost 61% of all sunflower oil imported by India was supplied from the Russian Federation, which is due to lower prices for Russian oil than for Ukrainian oil.