India’s edible oil import dependence may deepen as oilseed sowing lags

Oilseed area remains below seasonal norms

India’s dependence on imported edible oil could deepen after oilseed planting remained substantially below its normal level during the current kharif season. Business Standard Hindi reported that the area sown with oilseed crops stood at 14.709 million hectares as of 17 July, 26.48% below the normal seasonal area of 20.008 million hectares. The gap was 5.299 million hectares.

Planting accelerated in the second week of July following good rainfall across much of the country. The latest area was 5.54% below the 15.572 million hectares recorded at the same point last year, an improvement from a year-on-year deficit of 21% on 10 July. Agricultural specialists cited by the publication said oilseed planting should generally be completed by July. Crops planted later face greater exposure to adverse weather and pests, potentially reducing yields per hectare.

Soybean and groundnut planting trail last year

Soybean, the main oilseed crop of the season, had been planted on 10.602 million hectares by 17 July. That was 4.53% below the 11.105 million hectares recorded at the same time last year and 2.269 million hectares short of the normal average area of 12.871 million hectares. Groundnut planting reached 3.452 million hectares, 317,000 hectares below the comparable level last year.

The planting deficit does not yet establish the final size of the harvest, because rainfall and yields during the rest of the season will also determine production. However, a lower oilseed crop would reduce the domestic raw-material supply available to crushers and could raise demand for imported vegetable oils. Industry organisations cited by Business Standard Hindi expect any production decline to affect the edible oil market directly, increasing imports and contributing to substantial price fluctuations.

Crude oils dominate a rising import bill

India already imports about 60% of its edible oil requirements. Business Standard Hindi reported total edible oil imports of approximately 16.651 million tonnes in the 2025-26 financial year, with an annual import cost of about 1.61 trillion rupees. Data from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India showed imports of 10.388 million tonnes during the first eight months of the 2025-26 oil year, from November through June. This was 7% higher than the 9.729 million tonnes imported in the corresponding period of the previous oil year.

The composition of those flows shifted heavily toward crude oil. India imported only 368,000 tonnes of refined edible oil during the eight-month period, down from 1.499 million tonnes a year earlier. Crude edible oil imports rose to 10.018 million tonnes from 8.229 million tonnes. Crude palm oil was the largest category at 4.942 million tonnes, followed by crude and refined soybean oil at 3.273 million tonnes and crude and refined sunflower oil at 2.094 million tonnes.

Monthly arrivals were not uniformly higher. Imports in June 2026 totalled 1.111 million tonnes, compared with 1.597 million tonnes in June 2025. For processors, traders and food manufacturers, the eventual harvest will determine whether that monthly decline can be sustained. A persistent domestic supply gap would favour larger crude-oil purchases for Indian refineries, while transmitting global palm, soybean and sunflower oil movements more directly into domestic costs.