Photo: Collected
India's edible oil imports rose 5% to a record 1.85 million metric tons in August as refiners bought more than 1 million tons of palm oil for the second straight month to build stocks for the upcoming festival, four dealers told Reuters.
Higher buying by the world's biggest vegetable oil importers could help lower palm oil stocks in Indonesia and Malaysia and support benchmark futures. The purchase helped bolster soybean oil futures and could reduce inventories in sunflower oil-producing Black Sea countries.
India's average monthly edible oil import in the 2021/22 marketing year was 1.17 million tonnes, trade body Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) said. In July, India imported 1.76 million tonnes, a record high.
Palm oil imports rose to 1.12 million tonnes in August from 1.09 million tonnes in July, the highest in nine months, according to dealers' average estimate. SEA may release its August vegetable oil import data in mid-September.
"Refiners were making aggressive buying for the upcoming festival season," said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader and broker.
"Retail demand was moderate, but the industry is expecting it would pick up in coming months."
Sunflower oil imports jumped by 11.5% from a month earlier to 365,000 tons, the highest in seven months, while soy oil imports edged up 3.7% to 355,000 tons, dealers estimated.
With palm oil prices rising relative to soya oil and sunflower oil, refiners are ramping up their purchases in anticipation of demand during the upcoming festivals, said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of vegetable oil brokerage Sunveen Group.
India mainly buys palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand, while it imports soybean oil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.
Imports rose in August as a few vessels initially meant to unload at Kandla port in July were eventually offloaded in August due to port congestion, said a New Delhi-based dealer at a global trading house.
Concerns about local soybean and groundnut production due to dry weather are also prompting refiners to import more edible oil, Diller added.
India experienced its driest August in over a century, with the country receiving 36% less rainfall than normal this month.
Source:
Online/GFMM
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