Edible Oil Imports Drop by Nearly 8 Lakh Tonnes in Eight Months

14-Jul-2025 03:20 PM

Mumbai: While edible oil imports showed a slight month-on-month increase in June 2025 compared to the previous year, overall imports in the first eight months of the current marketing season have significantly declined. According to data compiled by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, India imported 15.31 lakh tonnes of edible oils in June 2025, marginally higher than 15.27 lakh tonnes in June 2024. However, due to subdued imports in earlier months, total edible oil imports during the eight-month period from November 2024 to June 2025 fell to 92.09 lakh tonnes, down by 8.85 lakh tonnes from 100.95 lakh tonnes during the same period of the 2023–24 season.

During this review period:

Palm oil (crude and refined) imports declined sharply from 57.65 lakh tonnes to 42.86 lakh tonnes.

Sunflower oil imports also dropped from 24.64 lakh tonnes to 18.93 lakh tonnes.

In contrast, crude degummed soybean oil imports surged from 18.68 lakh tonnes to 30.30 lakh tonnes.

The sharp fall in palm oil imports was most evident during the January–April 2025 period, and this gap remains substantial, although there was a rebound in May–June. Notably, palm oil imports in June 2025 surged to 9.56 lakh tonnes, the highest monthly volume of the current season. Previously, imports stood at 8.8 lakh tonnes in November 2024, 5 lakh tonnes in September, 2.75 lakh tonnes in January, 3.74 lakh tonnes in February, 4.25 lakh tonnes in March, 3.21 lakh tonnes in April, and 5.93 lakh tonnes in May.

In June 2025, crude soybean oil imports stood at 3.60 lakh tonnes, slightly lower than 3.99 lakh tonnes in May, marking a drop of 39,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, crude sunflower oil imports increased from 1.84 lakh tonnes in May to 2.16 lakh tonnes in June.

Palm oil imports were adversely impacted during the initial four months of the season due to higher prices compared to soybean oil, leading to a preference shift in India’s import pattern.