India reduced purchases of soybean and sunflower oil in January, but increased imports of cheap palm oil

In January, imports of vegetable oils to India decreased by 3.5% compared to December to 1.32 million tons, but the structure of purchases changed significantly - imports of palm oil increased to 51% due to reduced supplies of soybean and sunflower oil.

According to Reuters, in January the country reduced imports of sunflower oil by 23% to 269 thousand tons, and soybean oil by 45% to a 19-month low of 280 thousand tons due to increased demand for cheaper palm oil, imports of which grew by 51% to a 4-month high of 766 thousand tons.

The increase in palm oil purchases was facilitated by low prices for it and a sharp increase in prices for sunflower oil, and then soybean oil, caused by the restriction of supplies from Ukraine due to shelling of ports and ships in the Black Sea.

It is worth noting that India's significant increase in palm oil imports has not led to an increase in its prices on the Malaysian and Indonesian exchanges, as these countries have significant reserves.

A reduction in soybean oil supplies to India amid an increase in the supply of the new crop from South America will increase pressure on soybean oil quotes on US exchanges and affect the prices of other vegetable oils.