Key Highlights:
- Overall vegetable oil imports flat at 15.49 lakh tonnes despite tariff cuts.
- Crude oil imports surged—palm (+23.6 percent), soybean (+30.4 percent)—while sunflower plunged 53.6 percent.
- Refined palmolein imports rose; non-edible oil imports fell; govt stock release may ease festive prices.
Mumbai: India’s vegetable oil imports remained almost unchanged in June 2025 at 15.49 lakh tonnes, compared to the same period last year, despite a sharp increase in crude edible oil imports. This flat trend came even as the government slashed the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on crude palm oil, crude soybean oil, and crude sunflower oil from 20 percent to 10 percent, effective May 31.
Crude edible oil imports rose by 25.64 percent, reaching 11.51 lakh tonnes in June, up from 9.16 lakh tonnes a year earlier. Among the major contributors, crude palm oil (CPO) imports stood at 7.88 lakh tonnes, up 23.55 percent, and crude soybean oil at 3.59 lakh tonnes, rising 30.39 percent. However, crude sunflower oil imports fell sharply by 53.58 percent to 2.61 lakh tonnes.
Imports of Crude Palm Kernel Oil (CPKO) also rose by 33.33 percent to 4,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, refined oils such as RBD palmolein saw an increase in imports to 1.63 lakh tonnes from 1.45 lakh tonnes the previous year.
In contrast, non-edible oil imports declined to 18,497 tonnes, down from 23,178 tonnes in June 2024.
The Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) noted that agencies such as NAFED, HAFED, and NCDEX are holding about 14 lakh tonnes each of soybean and rapeseed. With the kharif harvest expected in less than three months, SEA recommended that the government release a significant portion of these stocks to control prices during the festive season. Early release would also reduce financial pressure and improve logistics for the agencies involved.
As of July, India held 15.68 lakh tonnes of edible oil in stock. From November 2024 to June 2025, total vegetable oil imports stood at 94.34 lakh tonnes, down 8 percent from 102.29 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.
India, the world's largest edible oil importer, sources palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, soybean oil from Argentina, Brazil, and Russia, and sunflower oil from Russia and Ukraine.
(With PTI Inputs)
