India's Palm Oil Imports Surge to 4-Month High in May

New Delhi, Jun 5 (KNN) India's palm oil imports rose sharply in May, jumping 12.4 per cent from April to reach 769,000 metric tons, the highest level in four months, according to estimates from five industry dealers.

The surge in purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils was driven by a recent correction in palm oil prices, making it more attractive compared to rivals like soyoil and sunflower oil.

This could lend support to the benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures contract, which fell to a more than three-month low in May.

"Palm oil imports jumped last month as higher margins prompted traders to increase refined palm oil purchases," said Rajesh Patel of edible oil trader GGN Research. Refined palm oil imports spiked to 214,000 tons from just 124,228 tons in April.

While crude palm oil is currently offered at around USD 948 per metric ton including costs for July delivery to India, soyoil and sunflower oil are priced higher at around USD 1,028 and USD 1,035 respectively. Just two months ago, crude palm oil commanded a premium over these other oils.

Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, expects India's robust palm oil buying to continue into June, with around 750,000 tons likely to be imported next month.

India's sunflower oil imports also surged 74 per cent month-on-month in May to 408,000 tons as some shipments delayed from April arrived. However, soyoil imports fell 16.5 per cent to 322,000 tons.

Overall, the country's total edible oil imports rose 15 per cent from April to 1.5 million tons last month.

India mainly sources palm oil from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while soyoil and sunflower oil is imported from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

Industry body SEA is expected to publish official May import data by mid-June.

(KNN Bureau)