India makes a record US soy oil purchases as the drought parches South America

MUMBAI (Feb 18): Indian traders have contracted to import a record 100,000 tonnes of soyoil from the United States because of limited supplies from drought-hit South America, at a time when prices of rival palm oil are scaling record highs, three dealers told Reuters. The higher purchases from the United States are expected to support US soy oil prices BOc1, which have climbed nearly 20% this year to close to their highest in a decade, fuelling worries about food inflation. The world's biggest edible oil importer traditionally buys soyoil from Argentina and Brazil, but lower bean output in these two leading exporters of the commodity forced New Delhi to turn to the United States, they said. "Indian buyers have bought US soyoil vessels. Prices were attractive and supplies were not enough in South America," said the India head of a global trading firm, who sought anonymity because of the company's policy. "Buying of another two vessels in the short term is possible." India usually ...