PALMOILMAGAZINE, MUMBAI — India recorded a sharp surge in palm oil imports in June 2025, reaching the highest level in nearly a year. The spike was driven by palm oil’s price advantage over competing vegetable oils such as soybean and sunflower oil, as well as the need to replenish dwindling domestic stocks.
According to a report by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) released Monday (July 14, 2025), the country’s palm oil imports rose by more than 60% from the previous month to 955,683 tons—the highest volume since July 2024.
“With more competitive pricing, palm oil has become the preferred choice for Indian importers, especially as domestic inventories recently hit their lowest level in five years,” SEA said in a statement.
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As the world’s largest consumer and importer of edible oils, India’s rising demand could tighten supply in major producing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. This surge in imports has also supported the upward trend in palm oil futures on the Malaysian exchange.
Citing Kontan via Palmoilmagazine.com, while palm oil imports soared, the trend was mixed for other vegetable oils. Soybean oil imports dropped 9.8% to 359,504 tons, while sunflower oil imports increased by 17.8% to 216,141 tons.
Overall, India’s total vegetable oil stock as of July 1, 2025, rose to 1.568 million tons—up from 1.33 million tons at the beginning of June. This marks the first increase in stock levels in the past seven months.
Rajesh Patel, an edible oil market analyst at GGN Research, predicts the strong buying trend for palm oil will continue in July. “Palm oil remains significantly cheaper than soybean and sunflower oils, so we expect imports this month to stay above 900,000 tons,” Patel said.
He also anticipates a rise in soybean oil imports to around 450,000 tons this month, due to several shipments delayed at Kandla Port in Gujarat last month, which are now scheduled to be unloaded soon. (P2)
