Higher Domestic Supply Hits Soybean Oil Imports from Argentina

19-Dec-2025 04:08 PM

Mumbai: Abundant supply from the Kharif soybean crop and robust crushing have increased the availability of soybean oil in the country.

The Indian rupee has fallen to a record low against the US dollar. As a result, Indian importers (refiners) have significantly reduced their interest in importing soybean oil from Argentina.

It is understood that more than 100,000 tonnes of soybean oil import contracts from Argentina for near-term shipments have either been canceled or postponed to subsequent months.

Although the Argentine government has reduced export duties on soybeans and soybean oil, among other products, by 2 percentage points, soybean oil prices there are still rising.

This is because China has contracted to import a large quantity of soybeans from Argentina, and to fulfill these shipments, Argentine exporters are buying large quantities of soybeans from domestic farmers at higher prices.

Consequently, crushers and processors are also having to buy soybeans at higher prices, significantly increasing the cost of soybean oil production.

In India, the continuously weakening rupee is making soybean oil imports more expensive. On the other hand, due to good supply and availability in the domestic market, soybean prices are trading well below the government's minimum support price, keeping soybean oil prices soft.

Refiners are finding domestically produced soybean oil cheaper than imported oil, and are therefore showing more interest in buying it.

Argentina is the world's leading exporter of soybean oil, and India is its largest importer. Many cargoes of soybean oil destined for India from Argentina have either been canceled or suspended.

As a result, a decline in imports of this important edible oil is expected in India during December-January.