India purchases palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, with its soyoil primarily imported from Argentina and Brazil. Also, it buys sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia. Higher palm oil imports would lift India's total edible oil imports to 14.1 million tonnes in 2022/23 from 13.8 million tonnes, the survey demonstrated.
Now, India's palm oil imports in 2022/23 could jump 9% from a year before on a rise in domestic consumption and as competitive prices permit the tropical oil to regain its share in the world's biggest market, a Reuters survey demonstrated on Wednesday.
Also, the higher buying could allow top producer Indonesia in bringing down ballooning inventories and support benchmark Malaysian palm oil prices, which have almost halved from record highs before this year.
Palm oil imports in the new marketing year beginning from Nov. 1 could increase to 8.4 million tonnes from 7.7 million tonnes this year. Further, the country's edible oil consumption could rise by 3.6% to 23 million tonnes next year, the survey revealed.
"Consumption will enhance in the new year as prices have corrected and demand has also been increasing with beginning up of the economy," B.V. Mehta, executive director of Solvent Extractors' Association of India, expressed.
In the previous quarter of the current marketing year vegetable oil
Imports are set to jump, which would permit the country to start the following season with an opening stock of 2.55 million tonnes, up from 1.7 million tonnes a year ago, he stated.
India buys palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, with its soyoil particularly imported from Argentina and Brazil. It also purchases sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia.
Further, India's sunflower oil imports, which were disrupted by Russia's attack on Ukraine, could rise 15% to 2.5 million tonnes in the new season as shipments have resumed from the Black Sea region, dealers expressed.
India's local edible oil supplies are likely to stay largely steady as an increase in supplies of soybean and rapeseed could be offset by a decline in production of rice bran and ground nut oil, they expressed.
