Imports of Palm oil it's from soy India’s crude oil prices hit their highest levels in about a year in July as refiners stepped up purchases following a price correction and in anticipation of a possible increase in import duties, six dealers said on Friday.
Increased palm oil purchases by the world's largest importer of vegetable oils will help reduce stocks at top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and could support benchmark prices.
Palm oil imports rose 39% in July from the previous month to reach 1.09 million metric tons, the highest volume since August 2023, according to dealer estimates.
The refining margin was positive for palm oil in May and June, during which most buyers placed orders for July shipments, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil brokerage and trader GGN Research.
Soybean oil imports in the month rose 43% to 394,000 metric tons, the highest in 13 months, traders said.
“Imports have increased due to expectations of higher duties, encouraging additional purchases,” said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group.
Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget for 2024-25, without changing taxes on edible oils.
Growth in edible oil imports in India
India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. While importing soybean oil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
Sunflower oil imports fell 22% in July from record shipments the previous month to 364,000 metric tons, traders said.
The increase in palm oil and soybean imports pushed edible oil imports up by 21% to 1.85 million tonnes. On average, India has imported 1.2 million tonnes of edible oil so far in the current marketing year that began in November 2023.
“July imports could have been a record but berthing delays at Kandla port prevented it,” said Patel of GGN Research. The Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) is due to release July import data in mid-August.
Source: Rajendra Jadhav | Notícias Agrícolas
