India’s June palm oil imports rise 56% to 3-month high: Trade body

India’s palm oil imports jumped 56% to a three-month high in June, as buyers took advantage of a dip in prices to increase purchases, a leading trade body said on Friday. Imports rose to 683,133 metric tons in June, up from 439,173 metric tons in May as prices fell to their lowest in 28 months, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.

A rebound in buying by the world’s biggest vegetable oil importer would support Malaysian palm oil futures and help top producers Indonesia and Malaysia to trim inventories. Imports in May were the lowest since February 2021, as the tropical oil started trading at a premium to soyoil and sunflower oil in the previous months, prompting buyers to shift to the cheaper soft oils.

“But in the past few weeks, palm oil has once again become competitive and started trading at a discount to soyoil, which brought back buyers,” said a New Delhi-based dealer with a global trade house. Price-sensitive Asian buyers typically rely on palm oil because of the low cost and quick shipping times. Soyoil imports in June rose around 37% to 437,658 tons, while sunflower oil were down 35% at 190,785 metric tons, the SEA said.

The country’s total vegetable oil imports rose about 24% to 1.3 million metric tons, it added. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. Palm oil imports in July could rise above 700,000 tons as its discount to rival soyoil has been widening, the dealer said.

Tags: futures, Indonesia, prices, Vegetable Oil, India, Malaysia, soyoil, palm oil, purchases, imports