Feb vegetable oil imports down 13% to 9.75 lakh tonne: SEA

According to industry data released on Wednesday by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), India’s vegetable oils imports witnessed a notable decline of 13% year-on-year in February, amounting to nearly 9.75 lakh tonnes.

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This is compared to 11.14 lakh tonnes imported during the same period last year.

The breakdown of imports reveals that edible oil shipments constituted a major portion, totaling 9.67 lakh tonnes in February, down from 10.98 lakh tonnes in February 2023. Additionally, non-edible oils imports witnessed a significant decrease, falling to 7,000 tonnes from 16,006 tonnes year-on-year.

The data further illustrates a broader trend of declining imports over the period spanning November 2023 to February 2024, with total vegetable oils imports dropping by 21% to 46.47 lakh tonnes from 58.87 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous oil year.

India’s reliance on imports for meeting its edible oil requirements remains significant, with imports accounting for over 50% of domestic needs. Notably, the country sources palm oil primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soyabean oil from Argentina and Brazil.