Festivals lift India's edible oil imports to four-month high in November, dealers say

MUMBAI (Dec 3): India's edible oil imports in November jumped to their highest level in four months as refiners raised purchases of palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil to replenish inventories after robust demand during festival season, five dealers said. Higher palm oil imports by India, the world's biggest buyer of vegetable oils, would help in bringing down inventories in producing countries and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures trading near their highest in over two years. Palm oil imports edged 0.5% higher in November from the previous month to 850,000 metric tonnes, according to estimates from dealers. Festival season demand was good this year, which gave confidence to refiners to buy more to restock, said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage. Indians celebrated the Dussehra and Diwali festivals in October and November, increasing the consumption of sweets and fried food. Soyoil imports in November rose 20% from a month ago to 410,000 ...