InfoSAWIT, MUMBAI — India's palm oil imports in July recorded a decline due to the cancellation of several contracts, while soybean oil imports surged to a three-year high thanks to more competitive prices and the arrival of delayed shipments from June. This was reported by five traders to the media.
The decline in palm oil imports by India—the world's largest vegetable oil importer—could trigger stockpiling in the two major producers, Indonesia and Malaysia, and put pressure on palm oil benchmark prices on the Malaysian Exchange.
According to traders' estimates, India's palm oil imports in July fell by 10% to 858,000 metric tons, down from an 11-month high reached in June.
Conversely, soybean oil imports jumped 38% month-on-month to 495,000 tons, the highest in three years. This surge was driven by the unloading of delayed shipments at Kandla Port, Gujarat, in June.
Imports of sunflower oil decreased by 7% to 201,000 tons. Nevertheless, the increase in soybean oil imports pushed total vegetable oil imports in India in July up by 1.5% to 1.53 million tons—the highest since November last year. This figure does not include duty-free shipments that entered via land routes from Nepal.
As reported by InfoSAWIT from India Times on Monday (August 11, 2025), Aashish Acharya, Vice President of Patanjali Foods Ltd—one of the largest vegetable oil importers in India—stated that after relatively low vegetable oil purchases in the first half of 2025, India is now increasing imports to meet rising demand ahead of the festival season.
Demand for vegetable oils, particularly palm oil, typically increases during the festive season due to a surge in the consumption of sweet and fried foods.
Rajesh Patel, Managing Partner of GGN Research, added that imports will remain high in the coming months as refineries work to replenish their stocks.
India primarily imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soybean oil and sunflower oil come from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine. From Nepal, India's vegetable oil imports in July reached 83,000 tons, up from 75,000 tons in June, according to GGN Research estimates. (T2)
