Source: APKinform (Ukraine)
As reported by SEA, by early April, India’s vegetable oil reserves had dropped by 11.3% year-on-year to 1.67 million tons, marking the lowest amount since December 2021.
This decline is mainly attributed to reduced palm oil imports over the past four months. Although March saw a 14% increase in palm oil arrivals (reaching 424,600 tons), overall procurement still lags behind the typical monthly figures.
Over the past year, palm oil’s proportion of India’s total vegetable oil imports fell from 61% to 43%, while the combined share of soybean and sunflower oils climbed to 57%.
March imports of soybean oil surged 25% to 355,400 tons, whereas sunflower oil imports dipped by 16% to 190,700 tons – the lowest level seen in six months.
Analysts anticipate that India will boost its vegetable oil purchases in April, particularly in preparation for the upcoming holiday period, due to shrinking inventories.