Last updated:February 12, 2025, 15:43 IST
Total vegetable oil imports fall 13% from 12 larkton a year ago in January.
Malaysian palm oil shipments fell as tighter export supplies encouraged consumers to switch to lower-cost South American soybean oil.
India’s palm oil imports plunged in January 2025, a low of 65% in 2013 to 2,75,241 tonnes. Total vegetable oil imports fell to 1049,000 tonnes from 13% a year ago in January.
“Palm oil has lost market share in India and has slowed, with the share being taken by soybean oil,” the sea said in a statement.
Malaysian palm oil shipments fell as tighter export supplies encouraged consumers to switch to lower-cost South American soybean oil.
Soybean oil more than doubled to 4,44,026 tons in January from 1,88,859 tons a year ago, while sunflower oil cargo rose 31% to 2,88,284 tons.
Among palm oil products, the import of refined bleach deodorizing (RBD) palmolein has decreased from 2,44,678 tonnes a year ago to 30,465 tonnes. Shipping of crude palm oil has decreased from 5,32,877 tons to 2,40,276 tons.
The ocean said the large influx of refined soybean oil and palm oil at low prices at Nepal’s prices are distorting the local market. Nepal exported 1,10,000 tons of cooking oil to India between mid-October 2024 and mid-January 2025.
Last month, palm oil prices fell between 80 and 100 US dollars per tonne, but soybean oil remains more attractive, Sea said.
India, the world’s largest consumer and importer of cooking oil, had 217,600,000 tonnes of cooking oil stock as of February 1st.
Indonesia and Malaysia are India’s leading palm oil suppliers, while Argentina, Brazil and Russia supply soybean oil. Russia and Ukraine are the main suppliers of sunflower oil.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
