Palmolein slump drags India’s vegetable oil imports down 28% in November

India’s vegetable oil imports plunged 28% year-on-year to 11.83 lakh tonnes in November, marking the kickoff of the 2025/26 oil year with a stark downturn. The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) attributes this drop primarily to a sharp decline in refined Palmolein shipments, which tumbled amid volatile global prices and softening demand. The world’s biggest vegetable oil importer had brought in 16.50 lakh tonne of vegetable oils, including edible and non-edible oils, in November 2024. Overall palm oil imports declined 25% to 6.32 lakh tonne in November from 8.42 lakh tonne a year earlier, the Solvent Extractors Association of India said in a statement. RBD palmolein imports plunged to 3,500 tonnes in November from 2.85 lakh tonnes a year earlier, while crude sunflower oil shipments fell to 1.42 lakh tonnes from 3.40 lakh tonnes in the same period a year ago. Crude soybean oil imports declined to 3.70 lakh tonne from 4.07 lakh tonne, and crude palm kernel oil imports ...