Refiners turn to soyoil and sunflower oil, pushing palm oil imports to an eight-month low
India’s palm oil imports fell to their lowest level in eight months in December, weighed down by weaker winter demand and a shift by refiners towards alternative edible oils such as soyoil and sunflower oil, a Reuters report said.
The slowdown in purchases by India, the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils, is likely to add to inventories in key producing countries Indonesia and Malaysia. That could put pressure on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, while providing some support to U.S. soyoil futures.
Palm oil imports declined 20 per cent from November to 507,000 metric tonnes in December, marking the lowest monthly volume since April 2025. In contrast, soyoil imports rose 37 per cent to 508,000 tonnes, while sunflower oil shipments more than doubled to a 17-month high of 350,000 tonnes, according to dealer estimates cited in the report.
As a result, India’s overall edible oil imports increased 19 per cent month-on-month to a three-month high of 1.37 million tonnes in December, driven primarily by higher inflows of soyoil and sunflower oil.
The data does not include duty-free shipments that entered India via land borders from Nepal, the Reuters report noted.
Official industry data from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, due to be released by mid-January, shows the country imported an average of about 632,000 tonnes of palm oil per month during the marketing year that ended in October 2025.
Market participants attributed the softer demand partly to seasonal factors. Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader GGN Research in Rajkot, Gujarat, said palm oil consumption tends to remain subdued during the winter months, especially as domestic edible oils such as groundnut oil, soyoil and cottonseed oil are more readily available.
Palm oil usage in India typically moderates in winter because the tropical oil solidifies at lower temperatures, limiting its application in northern parts of the country.
India primarily sources palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soyoil and sunflower oil are imported from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
Looking ahead, industry executives expect palm oil imports to pick up in January, while purchases of soyoil and sunflower oil may ease, as palm oil is currently trading at a discount to the competing oils, according to Sunvin Group chief executive Sandeep Bajoria.
(With input from agency)
