Vegetable Oil Imports – Down 7% between November 2024 and August 2025: SEA
15-Sep-2025 12:11 PM
Vegetable Oil Imports – Down 7% between November 2024 and August 2025: SEA
★ August 2025 imports 6% higher than July 2025
★ Widening of duty difference leads to sharp fall in RBD palmolein imports
★ According to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), total vegetable oil (edible and non-edible) imports in August 2025 stood at 1,677,346 tonnes, up 7% from 1,563,329 tonnes in August 2024. This included 1,621,525 tonnes of edible oils and 55,821 tonnes of non-edible oils.
★ In the first ten months of the 2024-25 oil year (Nov 2024 – Aug 2025), total imports of vegetable oils stood at 12,690,980 tonnes, down 7% from 13,687,511 tonnes in the same period last year.
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Imports from Nepal
★ Under the SAFTA agreement, Nepal exported mainly refined soybean oil, sunflower oil, and small quantities of RBD palmolein and rapeseed oil to India at zero duty. Between November 2024 and July 2025, imports from Nepal stood at 589,000 tonnes.
Decline in RBD Palmolein Imports
★ On May 31, 2025, the government widened the duty difference between crude palm oil (CPO) and RBD palmolein from 8.25% to 19.25%. As a result, refined oil imports became unviable. Consequently, imports dropped to just 5,000 tonnes in July 2025 and 8,000 tonnes in August 2025, compared with 136,000 tonnes in July 2024 and 92,130 tonnes in August 2024.
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Domestic Stocks (as on September 1, 2025)
Estimated stocks at ports: 966,000 tonnes
CPO & CPKO – 505,000 tonnes
RBD Palmolein – 30,000 tonnes
Degummed Soybean Oil – 215,000 tonnes
Crude Sunflower Oil – 210,000 tonnes
Rapeseed Oil – 6,000 tonnes
★ Pipeline stock (including domestic production and consumption) – 899,000 tonnes
★ Total stock – 1,865,000 tonnes, up from 1,716,000 tonnes on August 1, 2025. The rise was due to higher imports in the past three months.
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RBD Palmolein vs Crude Oil Imports
★ Between Nov 2024 – Aug 2025, RBD palmolein imports stood at 995,711 tonnes, much lower than 1,610,801 tonnes last year. Crude oil imports were 11,382,446 tonnes, slightly lower than 11,860,655 tonnes last year. During this period, the share of refined oils fell from 12% to 8%, while crude oils rose from 88% to 92%, mainly driven by higher soybean oil imports.
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Palm Oil vs Soft Oil Imports
★ Between Nov 2024 – Aug 2025, palm oil imports declined to 6,131,796 tonnes, compared with 7,642,579 tonnes in the same period last year. Conversely, soft oil imports rose to 6,246,361 tonnes, up from 5,828,878 tonnes last year.
Palm oil share fell from 57% to 50%.
Soft oil share rose from 43% to 50%.
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Key Suppliers
Indonesia: CPO – 2,261,959 tonnes, RBD Palmolein – 830,152 tonnes
Malaysia: CPO – 2,021,268 tonnes, RBD Palmolein – 129,752 tonnes, CPKO – 37,256 tonnes
Soybean Oil (Degummed): Argentina – 2,385,092 tonnes, Brazil – 886,936 tonnes, USA – 188,384 tonnes, Russia – 192,364 tonnes
Sunflower Oil (Crude): Russia – 1,202,984 tonnes, Ukraine – 576,755 tonnes, Argentina – 377,390 tonnes