India’s vegetable oil imports flat in June despite tariff cut boost to crude oils

By Admin

15 Jul, 2025

India’s vegetable oil imports remained nearly unchanged in June 2024, standing at 15.49 lakh tonnes, mirroring figures from the same month last year, according to the Solvent Extractors Association (SEA). Despite this flat overall trend, the country witnessed a notable surge of over 25% in crude edible oil imports, driven by the government’s recent tariff reforms aimed at reducing import costs.

Crude Oil Tariff Cut Sparks Uptick

Effective May 31, 2024, the Indian government slashed the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on major crude edible oils from 20% to 10%. This move was expected to stimulate imports and ease domestic price pressures. The immediate impact was evident in June’s data, as crude palm oil (CPO) imports rose by 23.55% to 7.88 lakh tonnes, up from 6.37 lakh tonnes a year earlier. Crude soybean oil imports jumped 30.39% to 3.59 lakh tonnes, while Crude Palm Kernel Oil (CPKO) imports increased 33.33% to 4,000 tonnes.

However, the only exception to this trend was crude sunflower oil, which saw a sharp 53.58% decline to 2.61 lakh tonnes compared to June last year.

Refined Oils and Non-Edible Imports

In the refined edible oil category, RBD palmolein imports rose modestly to 1.63 lakh tonnes, from 1.45 lakh tonnes in June 2023. In contrast, non-edible oil imports fell to 18,497 tonnes, down from 23,178 tonnes in the same month last year.

Overall, total vegetable oil imports, which include both edible and non-edible oils, reached 15.50 lakh tonnes in June.

Stock Holding and Market Concerns

According to SEA, government agencies such as NAFED, HAFED, and NCDEX are currently holding approximately 14 lakh tonnes each of soybean and rapeseed. With edible oil prices on the rise, the association has urged the government to release a significant portion of these stocks in the next three months ahead of the kharif soybean crop harvest, expected in about two and a half months.

SEA emphasized that early liquidation would help stabilize prices during the festive season and ease logistical and financial pressures on government storage facilities, thereby supporting the domestic edible oil supply chain.

Outlook and Import Trends

As of July, India held 15.68 lakh tonnes of edible oil stocks. For the first eight months of the oil year 2024-25 (November to June), total vegetable oil imports declined 8% to 94.34 lakh tonnes, compared to 102.29 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.

India, being the world’s largest consumer and importer of edible oils, sources its palm oil primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia, while Argentina, Brazil, and Russia supply soybean oil. Sunflower oil is largely imported from Russia and Ukraine.