India reduced vegetable oil imports by 11.5% in November

According to dealers, in November, India reduced imports of vegetable oils by 11.5% compared to October to a 7-month low of 1.18 million tons, in particular sunflower oil by 44% to a 2-year low of 145 thousand tons, rapeseed oil by 50% to 5 thousand tons, and soybean oil by 12% to 400 thousand tons, of which 30 thousand tons were imported duty-free across the land border with Nepal.

 

At the same time, palm oil imports grew by 4.6% to 630,000 tons due to lower prices, which forced processors to prefer this oil, reducing purchases of expensive soybean and sunflower oils.

 

India's increase in palm oil imports will help its main producers, Malaysia and Indonesia, reduce inventories, which will support the underlying futures on the Bursa exchange and increase pressure on soybean oil prices in the US.

 

Indian buyers are increasing their purchases of palm oil for delivery within a month, as its prices are almost $100/t lower than soybean oil and $200/t lower than sunflower oil. Buyers are looking for cheaper alternatives, so palm oil imports could reach 750,000 tons in December, according to experts at Patanjali Foods Ltd, a leading importer of edible oils.

 

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

According to the Central Statistics Agency of Indonesia (BPS), in October the country increased its exports of palm oil and palm products by 25.73% in value terms compared to October 2024. In physical terms, palm oil exports in January-October 2025 amounted to 19.49 million tons, which is 7.83% higher than the corresponding figure in 2024.