Indian Import of Vegetable Oils Soared 33% in August

The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) reported on September 13 the country’s import of vegetable oils (edible and non-edible) for the month of August jumped 33% to 1,401,233 MT from 1,053,810 MT in the same month last year.  Of the total, edible oil was 1,375,002 MT and the balance at 26,231 MT was non-edible oil.  Total import during the first 10 months of the oil year 2021/22 (November 2021-August 2022) reached 11,376,226 MT, higher by 6% compared to a similar period year-earlier at 10,708,446 MT.
Import of RBD palm olein during the 10-month period shot up to 1,346,669 MT from only 230,742 MT at the same time year-ago due to the high export levy on crude palm oil and lower duty on RBD palm olein in Indonesia.  RBD palm olein now account for 12% of total edible oil imports compared to only 2% last year, reducing import of CPO reported at 9,723,638 MT from 10,155,775 MT year-ago.  
Indonesia and Malaysia are the major suppliers of palm oil to India. During the first 10 months of the current oil year, Malaysia supplied 2,921,933 MT of palm oil (CPO and RBD palm olein) and Indonesia 2,164,983 MT of the same product mix.  Argentina and Brazil were the major suppliers of crude soybean oil with respective volume at 2,249,518 MT and 981,615 MT.  Crude sunflower oil imports came largely from Ukraine at 842,956 MT, Russia at 425,079 MT and Argentina at 302,683.