India's palm oil imports slump in December as soybean oil gains market share

India's palm oil imports dropped sharply in December as cheaper soybean oil from South America gained market share in the world's largest edible oil importing nation, industry data showed on Tuesday.

Soybean oil imports more than doubled to 420,000 tonnes in December 2024 from 152,650 tonnes a year earlier, according to the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA).

The shift comes as Malaysian palm oil export supplies tightened, prompting consumers to switch to more competitively priced South American soybean oil, SEA Executive Director B V Mehta said.

"Large price discounts are driving rapid absorption of surplus soybean oil while easing palm oil tightness," Mehta said.

Palm oil's market share fell to 42 per cent in December 2024, while refined oils, including soybean and sunflower oil, captured 58 per cent of imports.

Crude palm oil imports plunged 47.32 per cent to 3,26,587 tonnes from 6,20,020 tonnes a year ago. RBD palmolein imports decreased 25.16 per cent to 1,65,290 tonnes, while crude palm kernel oil imports fell to 8,298 tonnes from 22,500 tonnes.

Sunflower oil imports saw a modest increase to 264,836 tonnes from 2,60,850 tonnes in December 2023.

Total vegetable oil imports declined slightly to 1.23 million tonnes in December 2024 from 1.31 million tonnes a year earlier.

Indonesia and Malaysia remain the primary suppliers of palm oil to India, while soybean oil is mainly sourced from Argentina, Brazil, and Russia. India imports crude sunflower oil primarily from Russia, Ukraine, and Argentina.