India's palm oil imports to rebound from 5-yr low on competitive prices

India's palm oil imports are expected to rebound by nearly 20 per cent in the new marketing year, driven by competitive pricing that is helping the tropical oil regain market share, the head of an industry body said on Thursday.

 

The increase in purchases by the world's largest buyer is likely to reduce stocks in key producing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia and lend support to benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.

 

"Palm oil prices have become competitive relative to other oils after the recent decline, and that will drive import demand," Sanjeev Asthana, president of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), said in an interview with Reuters.

 

The country's palm oil imports in the 2025/26 marketing year, which started on November 1, could rise to 9.3 million metric tons, from last year's 7.58 million tons, the lowest in five years, said Asthana, who is also the CEO of Patanjali Foods Ltd.

 

Palm oil imports fell 15.9 per cent in the previous marketing year as the oil traded at a premium to rival soyoil for much of the period.

 

But palm oil is now trading at a discount of about $100 per tonne to soyoil and more than $200 to sunflower oil, encouraging refiners to book shipments for the coming months, dealers said.

 

Soyoil imports in the new season are expected to slightly exceed last year's record 5.47 million tons. Sunflower oil purchases are projected to fall between 2 million and 2.5 million tons from 2.9 million tons a year earlier as crop damage in the Black Sea region lifted prices, Asthana said.

 

India's total edible oil imports in the new season are expected to climb to a record 16.5 million to 17 million tons due to rising consumption, compared with 16 million tons last year, he added.

 

The SEA on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Associations to strengthen knowledge exchange between the two industry bodies and help prevent trade disputes arising during imports, he said.