India's palm oil imports edge up in Nov as buyers shift from costlier oils

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India's palm oil imports rose slightly in November as lower prices prompted refiners to increase purchases of the tropical oil while cutting back on more expensive soyoil and sunflower oil purchases, according to five dealers. 

Higher palm oil imports by India, the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils, could help top producers Indonesia and Malaysia reduce their stocks and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, while putting pressure on U.S. soyoil futures. 

Palm oil imports rose 4.6 per cent month-on-month in November to 630,000 metric tons, according to estimates from dealers. 

Meanwhile, soyoil imports fell 12 per cent to 400,000 tons, and sunflower oil imports slid 44 per cent to a two-year low of 145,000 tons, according to dealer estimates. 

India's total edible oil imports in November slipped 11.5 per cent to a seven-month low of 1.18 million tons from a month earlier due to lower imports of soyoil and sunflower oil, the estimates indicated. 

The import figures include around 30,000 tons of duty-free soyoil shipments that arrived via land borders from Nepal, the dealers said. 

Indian buyers are raising palm oil purchases for near-month shipments as it is nearly $100 per ton cheaper than rival soyoil, said Aashish Acharya, vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd, a leading importer of edible oils. 

"In December, palm oil imports could rise further to 750,000 tons," he said. 

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. 

The country's canola oil imports halved in November from a month before to 5,000 tons, dealers estimated. 

Sunflower oil has been trading consistently more than $200 a ton above palm oil and $100 a ton above soyoil, prompting buyers to seek cheaper alternatives, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader GGN Research.