Soy Oil Import Deals Increase on Palm Oil Price Outlook

01-Dec-2025 09:01 PM

Mumbai. Anticipating a significant increase in the price of palm oil, a rival to soybean oil, next year, Indian refiners have taken a simple step. Typically, refiners contract edible oils (palm oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil) for shipments over the next two or three months.

However, this time, Indian refiners have signed deals to purchase soybean oil for shipments in the first four months of the next fiscal year, which is considered an extraordinary event.

According to a leading industry analyst, Indian refiners have contracted to import 150,000 tons more soybean oil from Latin American countries for each month of April-July 2026.

According to analysts, the primary reason for this unusual long-term import contract is that soybean oil prices are averaging $20-50 per tonne lower than the export offer price of palm oil for this period. It is worth noting that the export offer price of soybean oil is typically higher than that of palm oil.

In fact, Indian refiners fear that Indonesia, the world's leading palm oil producer and exporter, may implement a plan to mandate 50% palm oil use in biodiesel by 2026.

This will significantly increase domestic palm oil consumption and reduce export stocks. Consequently, global market prices for palm oil could remain high and firm.

Unlike soybeans, sunflower rapeseed, and canola, oil palm production continues year-round. Palm oil has the highest availability among edible oils in Sanasar, making it cheaper than other edible oils.

According to industry analysts, a large quantity of over 650,000 tons of soybean oil has already been contracted for shipments between April and July 2026,

with further deals expected in the coming months. This could lead to record imports of soybean oil once again during the current 2025-26 marketing season (November-October).