India’s vegetable oil imports fell 32 per cent to 8.91 lakh tonnes in April from a year earlier, industry body Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) said on Wednesday, as shipments of both palm and refined oils declined.
Vegetable oil imports, comprising edible and non-edible oils, stood at 13.18 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.
“The import in the last three months was at a very low level due to reduced demand for palm oil coupled with increased crushing of mustard in the country,” SEA said in a statement.
Import of refined edible oils from Nepal, estimated at 60,000 to 70,000 tonnes monthly, also affected overall imports and stock positions, it added.
For the first six months of the 2024-25 oil year (November-October), total vegetable oil imports decreased to 65.02 lakh tonnes, from 70.69 lakh tonnes a year earlier.
Palm oil imports plunged 53 per cent to 3.21 lakh tonnes in April, from 6.84 lakh tonnes a year ago, with crude palm oil shipments down 55 per cent to 2.41 lakh tonnes.
Among soft oils, sunflower oil imports declined 23.28 per cent to 1.80 lakh tonnes, while soyabean oil imports fell 20.37 per cent to 3.60 lakh tonnes.
The share of palm oil decreased to 42 per cent, from 60 per cent in the last six months, while soft oils increased to 58 per cent from 40 per cent.
India, the world’s largest edible oil consumer and importer, had edible oil stocks of 13.51 lakh tonnes as of May 1.
Indonesia and Malaysia are India’s major palm oil suppliers, while Argentina, Brazil and Russia supply soybean oil.
Russia and Ukraine are the main suppliers of sunflower oil.