MUMBAI: India’s edible oil imports climbed to their highest level in 10 months in July as refiners increased purchases of palm oil and soyoil to replenish inventories ahead of the festival season amid tightening domestic supplies, five dealers say.
Higher palm oil and soyoil buying by the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils could help top producers Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina in bringing down stocks and support benchmark palm oil and soyoil futures.
Palm oil imports jumped 50% from a month ago to 733,000 tonnes in July, the highest in five months, dealers’ average estimates showed.
Soyoil imports rose 32% month-on-month in July to 501,000 tonnes, the highest in seven months, while sunflower oil shipments edged higher by 4% to 253,000 tonnes.
India’s edible oil imports surged 34% from June to a 10-month high of 1.49 million tonnes in July, driven by higher imports of all three major edible oils.
The figures exclude duty-free shipments arriving via land from neighbouring Nepal, the dealers said.
The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India is due to publish July import data by mid-August. — Reuters
