India's palm oil imports rose 7% in May 2026, but remained below normal levels

12-Jun-2026 07:50 PM

India's palm oil imports increased 7% month-on-month in May to 549,356 tonnes, although they remained below the usual average level.

Refiners increased purchases of cheaper soybean oil as palm oil's price advantage over soyoil narrowed.

Soybean oil imports surged 37% to 493,854 tonnes in May, while sunflower oil imports fell nearly 32% to 295,726 tonnes.

Total vegetable oil imports rose 4.2% from April to 1.37 million tonnes, the highest level in the last three months.

During the first seven months of the 2026/27 marketing year (starting November 2025), India's total vegetable oil imports increased 12% year-on-year to 9.2 million tonnes.

Industry estimates suggest palm oil imports could exceed 600,000 tonnes in June, while soybean oil imports may decline to around 350,000 tonnes.

India mainly imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soybean and sunflower oils are sourced largely from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.

Market implication: Palm oil imports are still below average, which could lead to rising inventories in Malaysia and Indonesia, putting pressure on global palm oil prices.