Black Sea Supply Issues Hit Sunflower Oil Imports; India Turns to Palm Oil
What Happened
India's sunflower oil imports fell 36% month-on-month to 103,000 tonnes in September, the lowest level since April 2022, as the Ukraine war continued to disrupt shipments from the Black Sea region. To compensate for the shortfall, refiners increased palm oil purchases by 3.5% to 810,000 tonnes, the highest level in seven months. Overall edible oil imports declined 3.75% to 1.5 million tonnes.
Key Takeaways
The disruption of sunflower oil supplies from Russia and Ukraine is reshaping India's edible oil imports, with refiners increasingly relying on palm oil ahead of the festive season. Stronger Indian demand could help support palm oil prices and reduce inventories in key producing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.