PALMOILMAGAZINE, MUMBAI — India recorded a sharp 60% increase in palm oil imports in June 2025, reaching 955,683 metric tons—its highest level since July 2024, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) on Monday (July 14, 2025).
The surge was driven by palm oil’s lower price compared to other vegetable oils like soybean and sunflower oil, as well as the need to replenish shrinking edible oil stocks.
As the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils, India’s import hike is expected to tighten global supply, particularly in key producing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, while also contributing to the rise in benchmark palm oil futures on the Malaysian exchange.
Shifting Trends in India’s Edible Oil Imports
While palm oil imports soared, India’s soybean oil imports dropped 9.8% to 359,504 tons, while sunflower oil imports rose 17.8% to 216,141 tons.
SEA also noted that India’s domestic edible oil stock rose for the first time in seven months, reaching 1.568 million tons as of July 1—up from 1.33 million tons in early June, which marked the lowest stock level in five years.
According to Rajesh Patel, Managing Partner at GGN Research, the strong demand for palm oil is expected to continue through July. “Palm oil remains the most competitively priced among major vegetable oils, so we anticipate imports will stay above 900,000 tons this month,” Patel said, as quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com from Business Recorder on Tuesday (July 15, 2025).
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He also projected a rebound in soybean oil imports to around 450,000 tons in July, following unloading delays at Kandla Port, Gujarat, which are expected to be resolved this month.
India sources most of its palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soybean and sunflower oils are primarily imported from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.
To curb inflation and support its domestic refining industry, the Indian government reduced the basic import duty on crude vegetable oils to just 10% in May. This policy move has further encouraged local edible oil producers and refiners to increase imports. (P2)
