India's Palm Oil Imports Witness a 15% Decline, Reaching 4.39 Lakh Tonne in May

India witnessed a decline of 14.59 percent in palm oil imports, amounting to 439,173 tonnes in May this year, as reported by the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) on Thursday. In comparison, India imported 514,022 tonnes of palm oils in May 2022, showcasing a noticeable drop in the current year.

However, the overall imports of vegetable oil in the country slightly decreased from 1,061,416 tonnes in May last year to 1,058,263 tonnes this year.

Palm oil continues to dominate India's vegetable oil imports, accounting for approximately 59 percent of the total. SEA data reveals that the import of palm oil products surged to 5,348,396 tonnes during the November-May period of the 2022-23 oil year, attributed to favorable pricing when compared to the 3,739,783 tonnes recorded in the same period the previous year.

SEA Executive Director B V Mehta stated that the share of palm oil imports increased from 50 percent to 59 percent, resulting in a reduction in the import of soft oils. However, there has been a significant surge in the shipment of sunflower and soybean oils over the past two months.

Among the various palm oil products, the import of crude palm oil (CPO) experienced a decline from 409,000 tonnes in May last year to 348,000 tonnes this year.

Similarly, the import of refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palmolein decreased from 100,000 tonnes to 85,205 tonnes. Conversely, the import of crude palm kernel oil (CPKO) witnessed an increase from 4,265 tonnes to 5,850 tonnes in May.

As for soft oils, the import of soybean oil declined from 373,000 tonnes in May 2022 to 318,000 tonnes in the same period this year.

Industry experts will continue to monitor the situation closely to assess the impact on India's overall vegetable oil market and the subsequent implications for the economy.