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Soybean oil imports surged 38% in May as refiners shift away from palm oil
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Monday, 15 June, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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India's soybean oil imports surged 38% to a five-month high of 4.97 lakh tons in May 2026, as domestic refiners aggressively shifted away from palm oil due to a rapidly shrinking price gap between the two commodities.
According to Shankar Thakkar, national president of the All India Edible Oil Traders Federation, this shifting import dynamic was further intensified by an intense nationwide heatwave and widespread commercial cooking gas (LPG) shortages, which heavily dented bulk demand from restaurants and street food vendors.
Further, the price difference between soybean and palm oil narrowed to just $40 per ton, palm oil lost its competitive edge, driving refiners toward soft oils.
Meanwhile, as India's soybean oil imports climbed, sunflower oil shipments plummeted 32.3% to 2.94 lakh tons.
As per Thakkar, palm oil imports saw a marginal month-on-month recovery to 5.51 lakh tons in May, up from April's 5,13,403 tons, but remained well below the historical monthly average of 6.32 lakh tons.
Industry analysts warn that below-average buying from India, the world's largest vegetable oil importer, could cause inventories to pile up in top producing nations like Indonesia and Malaysia, putting pressure on Malaysian palm oil futures.
Overall, India's total edible oil imports rose 2.6% to approximately 13 lakh tons in May, propelled almost entirely by the soybean oil surge. These figures exclude duty-free land shipments from Nepal, with official government data expected by mid-June.
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