India’s palm oil demand rises after 5 months of weak activity

Published 2025년 4월 28일

Tridge summary

India has experienced a revival in palm oil demand in April, following a period of decreased activity for five months, largely due to reduced prices and positive import margins in comparison to soybean oil. This shift is linked to the surge in palm oil production in Malaysia and the drop in prices caused by concerns over potential US tariffs. As a result, palm oil is now trading at a lower price than soybean oil, leading to a rise in import margins for the former while maintaining negative margins for other oils. Consequently, India's palm oil imports in March saw a 13.7% increase compared to February, although they remained 38% lower than the previous year. OleoScope anticipates a growth in global palm oil exports by September, reaching 25 million tons.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

India has seen a surge in palm oil demand in April after five months of weak activity, driven by lower prices and favourable import margins compared to soybean oil. The decline in palm oil is attributed to increased production and inventories in Malaysia, as well as recent market uncertainty caused by concerns about US tariffs, which led to a price drop in April. Palm oil is now trading below soybean oil by an average of $50 per tonne (reversing a trend from March 2025, when soybean oil was cheaper by $70-100 per tonne), and import margins for palm oil have turned positive, while those for products such as olein, sunflower oil and soybean oil remain negative, according to S&P Global Platts. India’s palm oil imports in March increased by 13.7% compared to February, amounting to 424.6 thousand tons, but still 38% less than in March 2024. The palm oil contract has fallen by 12% during this year. According ...

Source: UkrAgroConsult