In November 2024, India's import of edible oils surged to 15.90 lakh tonnes, surpassing both the 14.63 lakh tonnes in October 2024 and the 11.48 lakh tonnes in November 2023. This increase was driven by higher imports of several types of edible oils. Notably, the import of RBD palmolein rose from 2.36 lakh tonnes in October to 2.85 lakh tonnes in November, and crude sunflower oil jumped from 2.39 lakh tonnes to 3.41 lakh tonnes. Similarly, crude soybean oil imports grew from 3.42 lakh tonnes to 4.08 lakh tonnes.

In contrast, crude palm oil imports decreased from 5.97 lakh tonnes in October to 5.47 lakh tonnes in November, and crude palm kernel oil imports fell from 13,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes. When compared to November 2023, the import of RBD palmolein increased from 1.71 lakh tonnes to 2.85 lakh tonnes, while the import of crude edible oils grew from 9.77 lakh tonnes to 13.06 lakh tonnes.

This shift was attributed to the relatively lower prices of soybean oil and sunflower oil compared to crude palm oil, which sparked increased interest in these oils. Additionally, there was a rise in the import of refined palmolein.

As of December 1, 2024, India had a total edible oil stock of 25.69 lakh tonnes at its ports, along with 9.98 lakh tonnes in transit and 15.71 lakh tonnes on the way. This was a slight increase from 24.08 lakh tonnes of stock on November 1, but a decrease from 29.60 lakh tonnes on December 1, 2023. For the entire 2023-24 marketing season, India imported 159.63 lakh tonnes of edible oils, which was 5 lakh tonnes less than the record 164.66 lakh tonnes in 2022-23.