India’s palm oil imports fell to an eight-month low in December, weighed down by weaker winter demand and as refiners increased purchases of rival oils such as soyoil and sunflower oil, according to five dealers.
Lower palm oil imports by India, the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils, could lift inventories in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia, weighing on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, while lending support to U.S. soyoil futures.
Palm oil imports fell 20% month-on-month in December to 507,000 metric tons, the lowest since April 2025, according to estimates from dealers.
Meanwhile, soyoil imports surged 37% to 508,000 tons, and sunflower oil imports more than doubled to a 17-month high of 350,000 tons, according to dealer estimates.
India’s total edible oil imports in December rose 19% from a month earlier to a three-month high of 1.37 million tons due to higher imports of soyoil and sunflower oil, the estimates indicated.
The import numbers exclude duty-free shipments that arrived via land borders from Nepal, they said.
India imported an average of about 632,000 tons of palm oil each month during the marketing year that ended in October 2025, said the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, which is set to publish its December import data by mid-January.
Palm oil demand has remained weak due to the winter months and improved availability of domestic edible oils such as groundnut oil, soyoil and cottonseed oil, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader GGN Research at Rajkot, Gujarat.
India’s palm oil imports typically moderate during the winter months, as the tropical oil solidifies at lower temperatures, limiting its use in northern parts of the country.
India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
Palm oil imports are likely to rise in January, while soyoil and sunflower oil imports may moderate, as palm oil is now trading at a discount to the two rival oils, said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm.
