Edible Oil Imports Rise to 1.362 Million Tons in December

13-Jan-2026 05:55 PM

Mumbai. Despite a decline in palm oil imports, total edible oil imports registered a significant increase in December due to a substantial rise in the import of soft oils (soybean oil and sunflower oil).

According to data compiled by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), total edible oil imports in December 2025 rose to 1.362 million tons, significantly higher than the 1.151 million tons imported in November 2025 and the 1.230 million tons imported in December 2024.

According to the association's report, 632,000 tons of palm oil were imported into the country in November 2025, which decreased by 125,000 tons, or 20 percent, to 507,000 tons in December 2025. As a result, palm oil stocks at Indian ports also decreased from 627,000 tons to 453,000 tons, a reduction of 174,000 tons.

On the other hand, soybean oil imports surged by 36 percent from 371,000 tons in November to a record high of 505,000 tons in December, and its stocks at Indian ports also increased by 35,000 tons, from 265,000 tons to 300,000 tons.

As for sunflower oil, imports were recorded at 143,000 tons in November, which more than doubled to 350,000 tons in December.

However, the total import of sunflower oil in the two months of November-December 2025 reached only 493,000 tons, which is 19 percent less than the total import of 605,000 tons during the same two months of 2024.

At the end of December, its stocks at ports increased to 200,000 tons, which is 75,000 tons more than the stock of 125,000 tons available at the end of November.

On January 1, 2026, a total stock of 1.75 million tonnes of edible oils was available, including 958,000 tonnes at Indian ports and 792,000 tonnes in pipelines.

This was 129,000 tonnes more than the stock of 1.621 million tonnes available on December 1, 2025. On January 1, 2025, a total stock of 2.506 million tonnes of edible oils was available, with 988,000 tonnes at ports and 1.438 million tonnes in pipelines.