Indian Palm Oil Imports

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 palm oil imports in September dropped 16.3 per cent to 829,017 metric tonnes, marking their lowest point since May, the industry trade body SEA of India said

Indian vegetable oil importers are ramping up palm oil purchases ahead of the festival season as declining global prices make it cost-effective to meet expected demand surge during the festive period, according to the Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA). The recent reduction in import duty on crude edible oils to 10 per cent, from 20 per cent, provides "a little bit of relief" for consumers, though prices would have been higher otherwise, IVPA President Sudhakar Desai told PTI in an interview. The duty cut was reflected in loose oils within two days but it takes up to 25 days to reflect in packaged oils, he said, and added the IVPA welcomes the government's soon-to-be-notified new regulations on the vegetable oil sector. The organised sector will not have any issue in implementing it unlike the unorganised sector. "Preparations have already started. We see good imports in July. People are buying ahead of festival time. The pipeline was dry in the previous three month

Higher purchases by India, the world's biggest buyer of palm oil, will support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, which have fallen nearly 10 per cent so far in 2025

Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday urged state governments to prioritise oil palm plantation targets under the NMEO-OP scheme by addressing bottlenecks and mobilizing available resources. The National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) was launched in August 2021, with the primary objective of enhancing domestic production of palm oil and reducing reliance on imports. The mission aims to bring 6.5 lakh hectares under oil palm plantations by 2025-26. "While significant progress has been made in certain regions, others need to accelerate their efforts," Chouhan said in a statement. The under utilization of allocated funds and delays in achieving plantation targets underscore the urgency for a more focused and coordinated approach, he said. Chouhan emphasized the need for states to prioritize achieving their plantation targets by addressing bottlenecks and mobilizing available resources. With substantial unspent funds under NMEO-OP, the minister urged state

While palm oil production elsewhere in the world is conducted on large-scale plantations, it is small-scale farmers in India who are the key to boosting production

Weather has been favourable for Indian crops this year, resulting in higher production of soybean and ground nuts, Mehta said, adding that rapeseed output was also expected to rise

The drop in imports of palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil brought down the country's total edible oil imports by 31 per cent to 1.06 million tons, as per dealers' estimates

India, on average, imports 750,000 tons of palm oil every month, and the cancellation of 100,000 tons represents about 13.3 per cent of monthly imports

The drop in imports of palm and sunflower oils brought down the country's total edible oil imports by 17 per cent to 1.53 million tons

Harikrishna said that in India winter is the main concern in getting optimum yields as when the temperature drops palms get stressed and start producing male flowers

India's edible oil imports declined 16 per cent annually in December to 13.07 lakh tonnes due to lower shipments of crude and refined palm oils, according to industry data released on Friday. Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) data showed imports of edible oils fell to 13,07,686 tonnes in December last year from 15,55,780 tonnes in the year-ago period. In the edible oil category, crude palm oil imports decreased to 6,20,020 tonnes from 8,43,849 tonnes, while (Refined Bleached Deodorised) RBD Palmolein's inward shipments slipped marginally to 2,51,667 tonnes from 2,56,398 tonnes. However, imports of crude sunflower oil increased to 2,60,850 tonnes from 1,94,009 tonnes during the period under review. Non-edible oil inward shipments fell to 4,000 tonnes in December last year from 10,349 tonnes in the same month of the previous year. SEA said imports of vegetable oils (edible oils and non-edible oils) in December 2023 fell 16 per cent to 1,311,686 tonnes from 15,66,129 ton

Higher purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils could help lower palm oil stocks in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and support benchmark futures

The Tripura government has set a target of bringing 7000 hectares of land under palm oil cultivation by 2026-27 financial year, a senior minister has said. At present, palm oil plants are cultivated in 56.35 hectares of land in the northeastern state. "To expand palm oil cultivation in the state, digital mapping was done in 2020 by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research. In the process, 1,46,364 hectares of land were identified in the state. "Of that, 7000 hectares of land would be brought under palm oil cultivation by 2026-27," Agriculture Minister Ratan Lal Nath said. To tap the potential, the Agriculture department has signed MoUs with Godrej Agrovet Ltd and Patanjali Food Private Ltd under the National Mission on Edible Oil, he said. Nath said Godrej Agrovet Ltd has set up a nursery at Nalkata in Unakoti district. "Godrej Agrovet has also brought palm plants from Andhra Pradesh and planted them on 52.01 hectares of lan

Buyers are concerned that the recent price rise may not be sustainable, so they are placing new import orders cautiously

Edible oil industry body SEA has demanded that the government should increase the duty difference between crude and refined palm oil to 15 per cent from 7.5 per cent to curb imports of refined cooking oil and protect domestic players. In a letter to its members, Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) President Ajay Jhunjhunwala pointed out that Indian vegetable oil (comprising of edible and non-edible oil) refining industry is "facing challenges". "The Indian edible oil Industry, with a size of Rs 3 lakh crore (USD 35 billion), holds significant importance. Over the last 12 years, Indonesia and Malaysia have imposed higher export taxes on Crude Palm Oil (CPO) compared to refined Oil to protect their refining industry. This has made refined oil cheaper, rendering Indian capacity redundant and unutilized," he said. In India, the duty differential between CPO and refined palm oil has been reduced to 7.5 per cent, "serving the interests of the refining industry in Malaysia and .

The step is consistent with the government's intent to curb the rise in edible oil prices in the country

Last week, Indonesia said it will suspend some palm oil export permits to secure domestic supply as cooking oil prices rise ahead of upcoming Islamic festival Ramadan

India's palm oil imports in December jumped 94% from a year earlier to a record high for the month as palm oil's higher discount to rival vegetable oils led refiners to raise purchases

The government has also received petitions from the industry to raise the import tax to help prop up falling oilseed prices, says a source