Palm oil imports see a sharp rise in India

The Dollar Business Bureau

Taking a jump on the shipments of palm oil, imports of palm oil in India increased marginally to 7,29,536 tonnes in April 2016.

India, which is top most buyer of vegetable oils, imported 7,25,088 tonnes of palm oil in April 2015.

Of the total vegetable oil imports in India, palm oil makes up for 65%. The domestic refineries have been hit by the rise in imports of RBD Palmolein, which grew in recent times, said Solvent Extractors Association (SEA).

Among the products of palm oil, RBD palmolein imports increased by 74% from 1,87,534 tonnes in April 2015 to 3,25,902 tonnes in April 2016. The imports of RDB palmolein, which replaced CPO, is likely to rise in the near future.

The domestic refineries, facing crisis due to underutilization, are on the brink of closure.

The reason behind the growing import of RBD palmolein are the high costs incurred for imports of crude palm oil (CPO). However, the import of crude palm kernel oil increased by 65% to 11,528 tonnes from 6,997 tonnes in the latter said period.

Palm oils in India is majorly imported from Malaysia and Indonesia.

The consignments of CPO plunged by 26% to 3,92,106 tonnes in April 2016 from 5,30,557 tonnes in same period in 2015.

The total oil imports of India, in April 2016, increased by 12% to 12.42 lakh tonnes from 11.08 lakh tonnes in April 2015. The stock in pipelines and ports is more than what is required for a month. April 2016’s stock, inclusive of the ones at ports, stands at 24.40 lakh tonnes, while the required quantity for a month is 16.5 lakh tonnes, claims SEA.

Among the soft oils, April imports of rapeseed oil and sunflower oil stand at 51,087 tonnes and 1,00,750 tonnes respectively. The import of Soyabean oil increased by 86% from 1,86,849 tonnes in April 2015 to 3,48,195 tonnes in April 2016.