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
ICMR recommends a 12 kg limit, but rising consumption is fuelling obesity, lifestyle diseases, and growing dependence on edible oil imports
Depleted stocks could force the world's biggest buyer of vegetable oils to increase imports of palm oil and soyoil in the coming months, supporting Malaysian palm oil prices and US soyoil futures
Sitapati does not expect the price hikes to have an impact on sales as palm oil-based products, including soap, tend "not to be discretionary" goods that consumers can forgo
Benchmark palm oil futures, which jumped 20 per cent in 2024 to a two-year high, have already lost market share as top importers like India shift to cheaper alternatives such as soybean
Palm oil accounted for 56 per cent of India's total edible oil imports in the last marketing year, but in the first three months of the current year its share fell to 43 per cent
The thin lineup of vessels carrying palm oil at key ports such as Kandla, Haldia, and Krishnapatnam over the next two weeks suggests imports could drop to about 370,000 metric tons in Jan
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
Malaysia remains optimistic about palm oil exports to India despite recent import duty hike, with the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) Chairman Dato Carl Bek Nielsen emphasizing the long-standing trade relationship between the two countries. In an interview to PTI, Nielsen stressed that India, being the world's largest palm oil importer, continues to be an "incredibly important market" for Malaysian palm oil. He pointed out that such tariff adjustments have occurred in the past and are part of the normal trading relationship between the two countries. "This has been done before. Duties have been raised, and duties have been reduced, and we will see that this pattern will repeat itself in the future," Nielsen said. He said that the council's approach would be based on long-term partnership rather than "short-term knee-jerk reactions." He also added that the council is "not worried" about the tariff changes because there are other countries which would want to buy Malaysian palm oi
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
Key users such as cookie makers, restaurants and hotels in India are unlikely to look for substitutes immediately, even as some household consumption of palm oil may shift to its rivals
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
India currently imports around 16 million tons of vegetable oils per annum, including 9 to 10 million tons of palm oil, mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand
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
India's palm oil imports rose more than 37 per cent in July from previous month to about 1.1 million metric tonnes, highest since Aug 2023 and in line with traders' estimates, SEA of India said
India on average has been importing 1.2 million tons of edible oil so far in the current marketing year which began November 2023.
India is a key supplier of rice, sugar, and onions for Malaysia, in turn, Malaysia is the second-largest exporter of palm oil to India after Indonesia
Price volatility may lead some companies to reduce palm oil consumption and seek alternatives, but its historically lower cost will likely keep it as the top choice for consumers