India's August palm oil imports hit 1-year high on festive demand, price advantage

India's palm oil imports jumped in August to their highest level in more than a year, as competitive pricing relative to soyoil prompted refiners to step up purchases ahead of the festive season, a leading trade body said on Monday.

Higher palm oil imports by India, the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils, are expected to help top producers Indonesia and Malaysia reduce inventories and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.

India's palm oil imports in August rose 15.76% to 990,528 metric tons, reaching their highest point since July 2024, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said.


Imports of soyoil decreased 25.27% to 367,917 tons, the lowest level in four months, and sunflower oil imports rose 28.53% to a seven-month high of 257,080 tons, the industry trade body said.

In August, India imported 6,000 tons of canola oil for the first time in nearly five years, the SEA said.

Higher imports of palm oil and sunflower oil lifted India's total edible oil imports in August by 4.7% to 1.62 million tons month-on-month, the highest level since July 2024, the SEA said.

Refiners are gearing up for the upcoming festive season, and imports are expected to stay above 800,000 tons in September, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.

Demand for edible oil, particularly palm oil, in India typically rises during the festival season due to increased consumption of sweets and fried foods.

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

India imported 589,283 tons of duty-free edible oils from Nepal in the first nine months of the marketing year ending October, under a regional trade pact, the SEA said.