Back India’s June palm oil imports jump 49% from May over lowest prices in 28 months; check details

But lower imports in May and the price correction encouraged Indian buyers to increase purchases in June, Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm told.

Price-sensitive Asian buyers typically rely on palm oil because of the low cost and quick shipping times. The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India is likely to publish its June vegetable oil import data by mid-July.

India’s demand for palm oil will likely ease in the second quarter on shrinking cost advantage over competing vegetable oils, along with weak domestic consumption and inventory buildup, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Additionally, India’s soyoil imports in June surged 35 per cent from a month ago to 432,000 mt, according to dealers. Soyoil’s premium over palm oil had been negligible in the last few months, which is pushing buyers to increase purchases, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader and broker.

Sunflower oil imports in June plunged 36 per cent from a month ago to 190,000 mt, according to dealers. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

About 100,000 mt to 150,000 mt of palm oil orders will likely shift to competing vegetable oils — sunflower and soybean — every month in the April-June quarter, according to Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Mumbai-based brokerage Sunvin Group.

Currently, domestic demand is weak so palm oil imports will ease but soybean and sunflower oil buying will stay above the levels seen in the last few months, according to S&P Global. Sunflower oil imports could rise above 150,000 mt per month in the July-September quarter of current fiscal.

The outlook for the Indian economy is improving. India has the best growth- inflation balance among the large economies of the world: growth is resilient and inflation is falling. Leading indicators like GST collections, private capex, credit growth and PMI indicate the growth momentum to sustain,” said Dr. V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

‘’However, there is no room for exuberance. Globally growth is low and there is a possibility of the U.S. economy slowing down in H2 of CY 2023. This can impact India’s exports and growth,” he added.