PALMOILMAGAZINE, MUMBAI – India’s sunflower oil imports are projected to fall by around 10% in the 2025/26 marketing year, marking the lowest level in four years. The decline is driven by the widening price premium of sunflower oil over competing edible oils, prompting buyers to shift toward more affordable alternatives.
As the world’s largest vegetable oil importer, India is expected to ramp up palm oil purchases. Traders say this shift could help ease stockpiles in major producing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, while also lending support to Malaysian palm oil futures.
“With sunflower oil prices continuing to rise, India is likely to import only to meet its core requirement of around 200,000–225,000 tons per month,” said Aashish Acharya, Vice President of Patanjali Foods Ltd, one of India’s leading vegetable oil importers, quoted by Palmoilmagazine.com from India Times, Monday (9/2/2206).
Also Read: China Weighs Costly U.S. Soybean Imports as Diplomacy Competes with Market Logic
Currently, crude sunflower oil from the Black Sea region is being offered at around US$1,420 per metric ton on a cost, insurance, and freight (CIF) basis for March shipment to India. This compares sharply with crude palm oil at about US$1,165 per ton and crude soybean oil at roughly US$1,255 per ton.
Acharya and four global trading house officials estimate India’s sunflower oil imports will drop to around 2.65 million tons in the marketing year ending October, down from 2.94 million tons the previous year. This would represent the lowest level since the 2021/22 season. The traders declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Russia and Ukraine account for more than two-thirds of global sunflower oil exports. However, adverse weather in both countries has tightened supply and pushed prices to their highest level in over three years in January, according to a New Delhi-based trader.
Also Read: Tariffs, Sustainability, and Supply: India Shapes Indonesia’s Export Outlook
Meanwhile, Argentina is offering sunflower oil at a discount of about US$10–US$20 per ton compared with Black Sea supplies, reflecting improved production. Even so, traders say the price gap is insufficient to reverse the shift in India’s domestic demand.
Sunflower oil has traditionally been widely consumed in southern India. However, consumers in the region are increasingly switching to palm oil, according to a Mumbai-based trader. This trend was reflected in January data, with India’s palm oil imports surging 51% from December, while sunflower oil imports dropped 23%, based on trade estimates. (P2)
