Dramatic Drop in India's Vegetable Oil Imports

India's vegetable oil imports declined by 16% in March due to decreased shipments of crude sunflower oil. The reduction was noted in both edible and non-edible oil categories, with crude sunflower oil seeing a significant drop from the previous year.

In a notable shift, India's vegetable oil imports fell by 16 percent in March, largely driven by a steep decline in crude sunflower oil shipments, as revealed by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).

The SEA reported that total vegetable oil imports, encompassing both edible and non-edible variants, dropped to 9.98 lakh tonnes, down from 11.82 lakh tonnes in March of the previous year. Specifically, there was a substantial decrease in edible oil imports, which fell to 9.70 lakh tonnes, compared to the previous year's figure of 11.49 lakh tonnes.

The first five months of the 2024-25 oil marketing year saw a marginal reduction in total vegetable oil imports to 58.06 lakh tonnes. Meanwhile, palm oil imports witnessed a dramatic decline, counterbalanced by an upswing in soft oil imports, primarily sourced from Indonesia and Malaysia.