India's sunflower oil imports hit four-year low on Black Sea disruption; palm oil rises

Indian sunflower oil imports fell ​in September to their lowest level ​in more than four ‌years after the ​Ukraine war disrupted shipments, prompting refiners to increase palm oil purchases to their highest level in seven months, five dealers ‌said.

Higher palm oil buying by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils could help top producers Indonesia and Malaysia in bring stocks and support benchmark palm oil futures. India's sunflower oil imports ‌plunged 36% from a month earlier to 103,000 metric tons in September, the ‌lowest since April 2022, dealers' average estimates showed.

Palm oil imports rose 3.5% month-on-month to a seven-month high of 810,000 tons, while soyoil shipments fell 4.6% from the last month's record high to 600,000 tons. Edible oil imports ⁠fell ​3.75% to 1.5 million ⁠tons, driven by lower shipments of sunflower oil and soyoil.

The Solvent Extractors' Association of India is due ⁠to publish its September import data by mid-October. The Ukraine war has damaged port infrastructure in the ​Black Sea, making it difficult to ship sunflower oil to India despite good demand, said ⁠Rajesh Patel, managing partner at trader GGN Research in Rajkot city in the western state of Gujarat.

"Even ⁠in ​October, sunflower oil imports will remain low because of logistical constraints," Patel said. India sources most of its palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soyoil and sunflower oil ⁠are imported mainly from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

Palm oil imports rose last month as ⁠refiners sought to ⁠build stocks ahead of the upcoming festival season, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. India celebrates a series of festivals ‌between September ‌and November, when demand for edible oils typically ​peaks.