Veg oil imports may drop as stockpile climbs

Vegetable oil imports by India, the biggest consumer after China, may fall as higher inventory and recent decline in palm oil prices prompt buyers to hold back purchases, an industry executive said. Imports will drop this month and next as stockpiles at the nation’s various ports have risen to about 800,000 tonnes, compared with 600,000 tonnes, a level deemed normal, Govindlal G Patel, director of Dipak Enterprise, said in a phone interview.

Palm oil futures in Malaysia dropped 8.3 per cent in January, the first monthly decline in four, on concern credit controls in China will cool demand for cooking oils in the world’s largest buyer of the commodity.