India’s palm oil imports reached a 14-year low in January, dropping 45% from December to 275,241 metric tons. This decline was primarily driven by refiners shifting to cheaper soyoil due to negative refining margins.
This shift will pressure Malaysian palm oil prices and boost U.S. soy oil futures. In contrast, soy oil imports rose 5.6% to 444,026 tons, the highest in seven months, and sunflower oil imports increased 8.9% to 288,284 tons.
The decline in overall vegetable oil imports led to the lowest stock levels since April 2022. Experts predict a slight recovery in palm oil imports in February but expect soy oil demand to moderate.
India sources palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, while soy oil and sunflower oil come from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine. The total vegetable oil imports in January declined 14.8% to 1 million metric tons, marking the lowest level in 11 months.
