India’s August soyoil imports hit record as refiners build festival stocks
India imported a record 601,000 tonnes of soyoil in August, while palm oil arrivals reached a six-month high of 780,000 tonnes. Refiners increased purchases ahead of the August-November festival season as competitive soyoil prices and disrupted Black Sea sunflower oil shipments changed the import mix.
Soyoil arrivals rise 21% to a record
India’s soyoil imports increased 21% from July to a record 601,000 tonnes in August as refiners accumulated edible oil stocks ahead of the festival season, Reuters reported, citing average estimates from five dealers. Palm oil imports rose 7% month on month to 780,000 tonnes, their highest level in six months.
The combined increase lifted India’s total edible oil imports by 4% to 1.54 million tonnes, an 11-month high. India is the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils, making changes in its purchasing mix significant for suppliers and international futures markets.
The dealers’ estimates cover seaborne cargoes and exclude duty-free oil entering India by land from Nepal. An additional 100,000 tonnes of edible oil arrived from Nepal in August, including around 90,000 tonnes of soyoil, according to the report.
Festival demand and prices reshape the import mix
Rajesh Patel, managing partner at Gujarat-based trader GGN Research, told Reuters that refiners increased purchases to meet festival demand and because nearby deliveries were cheaper than cargoes for later months. India’s sequence of festivals runs from August through November, a period when edible oil consumption typically reaches its seasonal peak.
Soyoil gained market share because it was more competitively priced than palm oil, according to Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage Sunvin Group. Earlier reporting indicated that the landed costs of soyoil and palm oil for October-December shipments had moved close to parity, reducing palm oil’s usual price advantage.
Sunflower oil moved in the opposite direction. Imports dropped 38% from July to a six-month low of 157,000 tonnes as escalating disruption associated with the Russia-Ukraine war affected Black Sea shipments. The decline encouraged Indian buyers to substitute soyoil for sunflower oil while preparing inventories for stronger domestic consumption.
Higher buying supports major suppliers
India obtains most of its palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. Its soyoil and sunflower oil supplies come mainly from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. The August shift therefore strengthens demand for South American soyoil and Southeast Asian palm oil while reducing the immediate role of Black Sea sunflower oil in India’s import basket.
Reuters said stronger Indian purchases could help Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina reduce inventories and support benchmark palm oil and soyoil futures. Bajoria expects India’s palm oil and soyoil imports to remain very high in September, extending demand from refiners beyond the August record.
The figures remain dealer estimates. The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India is expected to publish its official August import data by mid-September. Its report will provide the industry’s formal measure of the surge and clarify the scale of seaborne arrivals as refiners enter the core festival-demand period.
