India in January reduced purchases of soybean and sunflower oil, but increased imports of cheap palm oil.

In January, the import of vegetable oils to India decreased by 3.5% compared to December to 1.32 million tons, but the structure of purchases changed significantly - the import of palm oil increased by 51% due to a reduction in supplies of soybean and sunflower oil. According to Reuters, in January the country reduced sunflower oil imports by 23% to 269 thousand tons, and soybean oil by 45% to a 19-month low of 280 thousand tons due to increased demand for cheaper palm oil, the import of which rose by 51% to a 4-month high of 766 thousand tons. The increase in purchases of palm oil was facilitated by low prices for it and a sharp rise in prices for sunflower oil, and subsequently for soybean oil, caused by the restriction of supplies from Ukraine due to shelling of ports and ships in the Black Sea. It is worth noting that the significant increase in India's import of palm oil did not lead to a rise in prices on the exchanges ...