India imports record 9.76 lakh tonnes of palm oils in July

India imported a record 9,76,175 tonnes of palm oils in July, industry body SEA said today, expressing concerns over the rise in cheaper shipments that has put pressure on domestic prices thereby discouraging oilseeds growers.
Consequently, vegetable oils shipments in November-July period of the current oil year reached a record level of 10.35 MT (million tonnes) from 8.19 MT a year ago. Total imports are expected to be at 13.8-14 MT, valued at over Rs 65,000 crore, SEA said in a statement.
India, the world's leading vegetable oil buyer, had imported 6,57,750 tonnes of palm oils in July 2014. The previous highest import of palm oils was 9,07,347 tonnes in May 2015.

India meets 60 per cent of its annual vegetable oil demand of 17-18 MT via imports. Palm oils make up over 70 per cent of the country's total vegetable oil imports.
Expressing concerns over the sharp rise in imports, Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said: "India is being used as a dumping ground for excessive supply of edible oils in the world market."
"Excessive import has put tremendous pressure on the local prices, which are at a level where Indian oilseeds growing farmers are in distress and losing interest in oilseed crop," it said in a statement.

The country's dependence on imported oil has further increased to nearly 70 per cent, an alarming situation for the country's food security, it added.

Imports have risen due to sharp fall in global prices of key vegetable oils and rupee depreciation by 5.3 per cent in last one year, the SEA said.
Among palm oil products, crude palm oil imports rose sharply to 7,65,865 tonnes in July this year, from 5,27,648 tonnes in the year-ago period.
Import of RBD palmolein increased to 1,85,357 tonnes from 1,20,855 tonnes, while crude palm kernel oil increased to 24,953 tonnes from 9,247 tonnes in the said period, the SEA data showed.
The import of soft oils rose marginally to 5,02,352 tonnes in July, from 4,34,521 tonnes in the year-ago period, it added.

According to SEA, total vegetable oils imports touched 1.51 MT in July -- the highest in any single month since imports opened in 1994 -- as against 1.10 MT in the previous year.
Higher shipments have increased the stock level at ports and pipeline to 2.42 MT as on August 1, much higher than the country's requirement of about 1.6 MT.
India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and small quantity of crude soft oils, including soyabean oil, from Latin America and sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia.