India’s October palm oil imports drop to five-month low, traders say

Indian palm oil imports dropped to a five-month low in October, CEO Morning Brief reported. The drop in total shipments was due to buyers switching to soyabean oil following a rally in palm oil prices, according to the traders. Lower palm oil imports by India, the world’s leading buyer of vegetable oils, could boost inventories in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and pressure benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures, the 4 November report said. India’s palm oil imports fell 27.6% in October month-on-month to 600,000 tonnes, the lowest volume since May, according to estimates from dealers. In the 2024/25 marketing year ended in October, the country’s palm oil imports fell 16% to 7.56M tonnes, the lowest total in five years, they said. Palm oil lost market share to soyabean oil after trading at a premium to other edible oils for several months, Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader GGN Research, was quoted as saying. Indian imports of soyabean oil fell by 17.1% in ...