According to a report released on Monday by the trade association Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), imports of edible oils—palm, soya bean, and sunflower—were down 23% to 3.64 million tones during the first quarter of the 2023–24 oil year (October–September) when compared to the same period the previous year. The nation imported 1.2 million metric tons of refined and unrefined edible oil last month, a 28% decrease from the year before. The entire edible oil stock as of February 1 was 2.64 which was 7.64% less than it was a year earlier.
.”The two main producers, Malaysia and Indonesia, are diverting their palm oil for the production of bio-diesel, which could result in an increase in prices this year,” the SEA stated. “The availability of palm oil for edible oil requirements has come down.”
Because of lowered import taxes, the nation’s imports of edible oils—palm, soy, and sunflower—rose 17% year over year to a record 16.47 million metric tons in the 2022–2023 oil year. About 58% of India’s 24–25 yearly edible oil use is imported. In 2022–2023 palm oil, both refined and crude, accounted for 59% of all edible oil imports. The main importers of palm oil are Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Sunflower oil and crude soy oil imports were 3 and 3.67 , respectively, last year. Argentina and Brazil provided the soybean oil, while Russia and Ukraine provided the sunflower oil. Crude palm oil landing costs (at the Mumbai port), which make up a significant portion of the nation’s imports, fell by 8% to $935/tone on February 9 from $1,015/tone the previous year. Crude soybean and sunflower oil landing prices have dropped by 27% and 24%, respectively, to $927 and $920 per tone.
The sector had warned that the government’s decision to extend the reduced import duty structure for palm, soy, and sunflower oils by a year, until March 31, 2025, would have a negative effect on the prices and processing of indigenous oilseeds Imports of crude palm, soya bean, and sunflower oil now only result in a 5.5% overall tax incidence due to a 5% agri infra and a 10% education cess. since February 2023, when global prices began to decline, retail inflation in the oil and fat category has been negative due to significant imports of edible oil. Compared to January 2024, there was a 14.96% decrease in cooking oil inflation.
