MUMBAI, Dec 15 ― India's palm oil imports in November jumped nearly 23 per cent from the previous month to hit their highest in three months as refiners preferred the tropical oil over rival soy oil and sunflower oil due to steep discounts, a leading trade body said today.
Higher purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils could help lower palm oil stocks in top producers Indonesia and Malaysia and support benchmark futures FCPOc3.
India's palm oil imports in November rose 22.8 per cent from the previous month to 869,491 metric tons, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.
Imports of soy oil increased 10.8 per cent to 149,894 tons and those of sunflower oil fell 16.3 per cent to a 17-month low of 128,707 tonnes.
Higher palm oil imports lifted India's total vegetable oil imports in November by nearly 13 per cent from the month before to 1.16 million tons, the association said.
In November, palm oil's discounts to soy oil and sunflower oil widened, prompting buyers to increase palm oil usage, said a Mumbai-based trader.
India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soy oil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
Domestic stocks of vegetable oil fell to 2.96 million tons by December 1 from 3.14 million tons a month earlier, the SEA data showed.
Imports of soy oil in the past two months were well below normal levels, but they're expected to rise in December due to increased competitiveness following the recent price drop, said a New-Delhi-based dealer with a global trade house.
“Palm oil imports are expected to decrease in December as its discount compared to soy oil has reduced in the last few days. Additionally, due to winter, refiners will purchase less,” the dealer said.
India's palm oil imports usually moderate during winter months as the tropical oil solidifies at lower temperatures. ― Reuters
