India’s palm oil imports in July hit a seven-month high as refiners ramp up purchases

MUMBAI, Aug 14 (Reuters) – India’s palm oil imports in July rose 59% from the previous month to 1.08 million metric tons, the highest level in seven months, as refiners took advantage of lower prices. lower to boost buying, a trade body said on Monday. .

Increased imports from India, the world’s largest buyer of vegetable oils, would help major producers in Malaysia and Indonesia to reduce stocks and support Malaysian prices.

Soybean oil imports fell about 22% to 342,270 tonnes and sunflower oil imports rose 71% to 327,259 tonnes, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.

India’s edible oil imports in July rose to a record 1.76 million tonnes as refiners built up stocks for upcoming festivals amid uncertainty over supplies from the Black Sea, traders said.

Crude palm oil price discount to crude soybean oil widened to more than $150 a tonne, prompting refiners to switch to palm oil, said a Mumbai-based trader with a global trading house .

“This trend would continue even in the coming months. We expect around 1mt of imports in September,” the trader said.

The country’s total edible oil imports in the 2022/23 business year ending Oct. 31 could rise to a record 15.5 million tonnes, the SEA said in a statement.

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soybean and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

Reporting by Brijesh Patel in Bangalore; editing by Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise

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