India's vegetable oil imports remained stable during the 2024-25 marketing year, maintaining the previous year's level despite significant shifts in sourcing patterns and commodity preferences, according to latest industry data.
Import Figures Hold Steady Amid Changing Composition
The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) reported on Thursday that total vegetable oil imports stood unchanged at 16.3 million tonnes for the marketing year that concluded in October. This maintains the import volume at the same level as the previous year, indicating consistent domestic demand despite global market fluctuations.
Breaking down the recent monthly performance, October witnessed imports of 1.33 million tonnes of edible oils along with 4,625 tonnes of non-edible oils. This represents a 9 percent decline compared to the 1.46 million tonnes recorded during the same month last year, suggesting some moderation in immediate demand.
Major Shifts in Oil Category Preferences
The most dramatic change occurred in the composition of imported oils. Soybean oil imports surged to a record 5.47 million tonnes, smashing the previous high of 4.23 million tonnes established back in 2015-16. This remarkable growth highlights changing consumer and industrial preferences within the Indian market.
Meanwhile, palm oil imports experienced a substantial contraction, dropping to 7.58 million tonnes from 9.02 million tonnes in the preceding year. This decline contributed to a significant redistribution of market shares between oil categories.
The overall soft oil imports, driven primarily by the soybean oil boom, jumped to 8.43 million tonnes from 6.95 million tonnes previously. Consequently, palm oil's share of total imports declined to 47 percent from 56 percent, while soft oils captured 53 percent of the market compared to 44 percent last year.
Policy Impacts and International Suppliers
The shifting import patterns were significantly influenced by government policy changes implemented in May. The import duty gap between crude and refined oils was widened to 19.25 percent from 8.25 percent, effectively halting imports of refined palm oil. However, India imported 750,000 tonnes of refined soybean and sunflower oils from Nepal under a zero-duty trade agreement, demonstrating how trade pacts can create alternative sourcing routes.
Indonesia emerged as the dominant supplier of crude palm oil (CPO) with 2.75 million tonnes, along with 832,152 tonnes of refined palm oil. Malaysia contributed significantly with 2.62 million tonnes of CPO exports to India during the marketing year.
In the soybean oil segment, Argentina led as the primary supplier with 2.89 million tonnes, followed by Brazil with 1.14 million tonnes. Russia dominated sunflower oil exports to India, shipping 1.47 million tonnes to the South Asian nation.
The association also reported that total vegetable oil stocks decreased to 1.73 million tonnes as of November 1, down from 1.99 million tonnes recorded a month earlier, indicating healthy offtake from storage facilities.
The vegetable oil marketing year in India follows the November through October cycle, providing a comprehensive annual perspective on consumption and import trends in one of the world's largest edible oil markets.
