InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA — India and China, the world's two largest palm oil markets, still make Indonesia the main supplier of this commodity throughout 2024. However, export values from Indonesia to both countries recorded a decline compared to the previous year, in line with global price changes and dynamics of the world vegetable oil market.
According to data from World’s Top Exports – Palm Oil Imports by Country (2024) cited by InfoSAWIT, Thursday (30/10/2025), India's total palm oil imports in 2024 reached US$8.65 billion, only a slight decline of -1.5% compared to 2023's US$8.8 billion. From that total, Indonesia still holds the top position with export value of US$4.3 billion, although down -5.7% from the previous year.
Malaysia ranks second with US$2.7 billion, growing 10.8%, followed by Thailand with US$712.9 million (down -8.9%) and Singapore US$597.3 million (up 5.5%). The sharpest increase was recorded by the Philippines, surging 46.7%, although its volume is relatively small, only US$41.9 million.
Meanwhile, several countries experienced significant declines in palm exports to India, such as the United Arab Emirates (-84.8%), Bangladesh (-83.2%), Nepal (-50.5%), and Papua New Guinea (-30.8%).
Overall, the 15 main supplier countries contributed 99.99% of India's total palm oil imports in 2024.
China: Palm Imports Plunge 33.7%
Unlike India, China's palm oil imports experienced a quite deep decline. Throughout 2024, China imported palm oil worth US$3.4 billion, down -33.7% from the previous year reaching US$5.1 billion.
Indonesia remains the largest supplier, with export value reaching US$2.2 billion, although down drastically -42.3% from 2023. Malaysia is in second position with US$1.1 billion (down -6.6%).
Meanwhile, several Southeast Asian countries actually recorded significant growth. The Philippines, for example, saw export growth up to 365.2%, followed by Myanmar (44.2%) and Thailand (6.2%).
In total, Southeast Asian countries still dominate palm oil supply to China, with a contribution of 100% of the country's total palm imports.
Indonesia Remains Dominant, But Competition Increases
This data confirms that Indonesia is still the main player in global palm oil supply, especially in Asian markets. However, the trend of declining export values to these two main markets indicates competition in prices and diversification of supply sources from other countries.
With shifts in global vegetable oil prices and increasing demand for sustainable production practices, Indonesia's palm industry faces new challenges: improving production efficiency, maintaining price competitiveness, and strengthening supply chain sustainability. (T2)
