India Ramps Up Palm Oil Imports as Prices Drop Below Soybean Oil

India, the world’s largest palm oil importer, is accelerating purchases after a sharp decline in prices made the commodity more attractive than soybean oil. The price shift has already supported Malaysian palm oil futures, which had fallen nearly 10% since the beginning of 2025. Dairy News Today has said this in a report.

“Indian refiners had paused palm oil imports due to high prices,” said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of brokerage firm Sunvin Group. “Now that palm oil is trading below soybean oil, new orders are being placed.”

Market sources report that crude palm oil (CPO) for May delivery to India is priced at approximately $1,050 per tonne (including cost, insurance, and freight), while crude soybean oil hovers near $1,100 per tonne.

Palm oil imports had slowed significantly beginning in December 2024 when the price gap between palm and soybean oil widened beyond $100 per tonne. Between December and March, India imported 1.57 million tonnes of palm oil, averaging just under 385,000 tonnes per month. An additional shipment of around 350,000 tonnes was expected in April.

By contrast, during the previous marketing year ending in October 2024, India averaged more than 750,000 tonnes of palm oil imports per month, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India. Official data for April is expected by mid-May.

With inventories running low, imports are forecast to rise sharply—over 500,000 tonnes in May, 600,000 tonnes in June, and potentially more than 700,000 tonnes per month from July through September.

“Refiners are under pressure to rebuild depleted stocks after several months of reduced imports,” noted Rajesh Patel, managing partner at trading firm GGN Research.

India typically sources palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while soybean and sunflower oils are imported from Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and Ukraine.