India’s Soyoil Imports Reach Record High in August as Refiners Stock Up for Festive Season

Indian refiners increased edible oil purchases in August, with soyoil imports reaching a record 601,000 tonnes and palm oil imports hitting a six-month high. According to five dealers, the buying spree was part of an effort to build stocks ahead of the festival season.

As the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oils, higher buying by India could help top producers such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Argentina reduce their stockpiles while supporting benchmark palm oil and soyoil futures.

Dealer estimates indicate that India’s palm oil imports rose 7% from the previous month to 780,000 metric tonnes in August. Meanwhile, soyoil imports jumped 21% month-on-month to a record 601,000 tonnes. In contrast, sunflower oil shipments fell 38% to a six-month low of 157,000 tonnes.

Overall edible oil imports rose 4% to an 11-month high of 1.54 million tonnes, driven primarily by the higher shipments of palm oil and soyoil. These figures exclude duty-free shipments arriving via land from neighboring Nepal. Dealers noted that about 100,000 tonnes of edible oils, including 90,000 tonnes of soyoil, were imported from Nepal in August.

The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India is scheduled to publish its official August import data by mid-September.

Rajesh Patel, managing partner at trader GGN Research in Rajkot, explained that refiners increased purchases to meet festive demand and because nearby deliveries were cheaper than shipments for later months. India typically experiences a seasonal peak in edible oil demand during its festival period, which runs from August to November.

Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage Sunvin Group, noted that soyoil imports jumped because the oilseed was more competitively priced than palm oil. Additionally, sunflower oil shipments from the Black Sea faced disruptions due to the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war.

India sources the majority of its palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soyoil and sunflower oil are imported mainly from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine. Looking ahead, Bajoria stated that Indian imports of soyoil and palm oil are expected to remain very high through September.

"The surge in edible oil imports highlights how seasonal consumer demand directly shapes supply chain planning and inventory management in the agricultural commodities sector. When domestic refiners align their purchasing cycles with festive demand and pricing advantages, it creates a ripple effect across international trade routes and producer nations. Businesses operating in supply-chain-heavy industries must closely monitor such seasonal shifts and geopolitical disruptions to optimize procurement costs and maintain operational margins." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes