Palm Oil Surge Pushes India’s Vegetable Oil Imports Up 13% in First Half of Oil Year
India’s vegetable oil imports rose 13% to 7.94 million tonnes during November-April of the 2025-26 oil year, led by a sharp jump in palm oil shipments. Rising global edible oil prices and rupee depreciation increased import costs, while higher stocks indicate improved domestic supply availability for the coming months.
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India’s vegetable oil imports increased by 13 per cent during the first six months of the 2025-26 oil year, driven mainly by a steep rise in palm oil shipments, according to industry body the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
The country, which is the world’s largest consumer of cooking oils, imported 7.94 million tonnes of vegetable oils during the November-April period, compared to 7.04 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year. India’s oil year runs from November to October.
In value terms, imports surged 19 per cent to Rs 87,000 crore during the six-month period, up from Rs 73,000 crore a year ago, reflecting both higher volumes and rising global prices.
SEA said edible oils accounted for 7.82 million tonnes of the total imports, while non-edible oils contributed around 1.21 lakh tonnes.
Palm oil imports recorded the sharpest growth, to 3.97 million tonnes from 2.74 million tonnes in the same period last year. In contrast, imports of soft oils, including soybean and sunflower oils, declined to 3.85 million tonnes from 4.13 million tonnes.
Indonesia and Malaysia continued to dominate India’s palm oil supply chain. Argentina remained the largest exporter of soybean oil to India, followed by Brazil, while Russia and Ukraine continued to be the key suppliers of sunflower oil.
The report also highlighted the impact of rising international edible oil prices on India’s import bill. Palm oil prices increased by around 14-15 per cent compared to April 2025 levels, while soybean and sunflower oil prices rose between 17 per cent and 22 per cent over the same period.
Adding further pressure, the Indian rupee weakened by more than 9.2 per cent against the US dollar over the past year, significantly raising import costs for refiners and traders. SEA described the currency depreciation as a major concern for the industry.
Nepal exported nearly 2.17 lakh tonnes of refined edible oils to India during the first half of the oil year. The shipments mainly comprised refined soybean oil, along with smaller quantities of refined sunflower oil, RBD palmolein and rapeseed oil.
Meanwhile, India’s vegetable oil stocks improved significantly. Total stocks rose to 2.12 million tonnes in May 2026 from 1.35 million tonnes a year earlier. According to SEA, steadily rising pipeline stocks since December 2025 indicate better supply availability for the second half of the oil year.
