sunflower oil imports: India’s sunoil imports hit second-highest degree as palm oil retreats

Decrease palm oil purchases by India, the world’s largest importer of vegetable oils, might cap the rally in benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures which might be buying and selling close to their highest in a yr.

Increased sunflower oil purchases will assist to scale back sunflower oil inventories within the Black Sea area.

March sunflower oil imports surged 51% month-on-month to 448,000 metric tons, the second highest on report, in line with estimates from sellers.

Palm oil imports fell 3.3% to 481,000 tons, the bottom since Might 2023, they mentioned.

“Sunflower oil imports are rising rather than palm oil. Manufacturing points are maintaining palm oil costs agency, prompting consumers to change to sunflower oil,” Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage, mentioned. Crude palm oil (CPO) imports are provided at about $1,020 a metric ton, together with price, insurance coverage and freight (CIF), in India for Might supply, whereas soyoil and sunflower oil are provided round $1,000 and $960 a ton, respectively, sellers mentioned. Palm oil normally trades at a reduction to rival soyoil and sunflower oil, however falling shares have lifted its costs above rival oils, whose provides are considerable.

Sunflower oil costs are very aggressive, which might guarantee larger imports even throughout April and Might, Rajesh Patel, managing accomplice at edible oil dealer and dealer GGN Analysis, mentioned.

Soyoil imports in March jumped 27% to 220,000 tons from a month earlier, and have been far beneath the month-to-month common imports of 306,000 tons seen within the final advertising and marketing yr ended Oct. 31, sellers estimated.

Business physique the Solvent Extractors’ Affiliation of India (SEA) is prone to publish its information on March imports by mid-April.

The upper sunflower oil and soyoil imports lifted India’s complete edible oil imports in March to the best degree in six months at 1.149 million tons, up 18.7% from a month earlier, sellers mentioned.

India buys palm oil primarily from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, whereas it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.