India increased vegetable oil imports by 30% in June due to a 61% increase in palm oil supplies

India's edible oil imports rose 30% in June from May to 1.53 million tonnes, the highest since November, as cheap palm oil imports surged 61% to 953,000 tonnes, the highest since July 2024, on reduced domestic inventories and a discount to competing soybean and sunflower oils, according to preliminary estimates from five dealers. Sunflower oil imports rose 18% from May to 216,000 tonnes, while soybean oil imports fell 9% to 363,000 tonnes.

Increased palm oil imports by India, the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils, will reduce inventories in the world's leading producers - Indonesia and Malaysia, which will support underlying futures for Malaysian palm oil.

Experts from brokerage company Sunvin Group report that the price of palm oil is currently $100/t lower than that of competing oils, so it is recovering the lost market share.

According to SEA, India imported an average of 475.7 thousand tonnes of palm oil per month in the first seven months of the current marketing year (ending in October 2025), compared to over 750 thousand tonnes per month in the previous season. However, the final figures for June will be released in mid-July.

India's palm oil imports are expected to remain stable in the coming months, driven by attractive prices driven by increased production in major producing countries. However, rising soybean oil prices will limit its purchases.

Recall that India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soybean and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation.