India's September palm oil imports hit 4-month low, soyoil jumps to 3-year high

India's palm oil imports in September fell to their lowest level in four months, as refiners replaced palm oil with cheaper soyoil, according to five dealers. Lower palm oil and higher soyoil imports by India, the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils, could weigh on the benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures while supporting U.S. soyoil futures. Palm oil imports fell 15.9% month-on-month in September to 833,000 metric tons, the lowest since May, according to estimates from dealers. Meanwhile, soyoil imports jumped 37.3% to 505,000 tons, the highest level since July 2022, and sunflower oil imports rose 5.8% to an eight-month high of 272,000 tons, according to dealer estimates. India's total edible oil imports in September slipped 0.7% to 1.61 million tons from a month earlier due to lower imports of palm oil, per estimates. The import figures exclude duty-free shipments that arrived via land borders from Nepal, the dealers said. "Palm oil is more expensive than soyoil these days, so people are going for soyoil instead," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of the Sunvin Group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil brokerage. Palm oil stock levels in India are comfortable after large imports between June and August ahead of the festival season, Bajoria said. Demand for edible oil in India, particularly palm oil, typically rises during the festival season amid increased consumption of sweets and fried foods. In September, India imported around 11,000 tons of soyoil from China, marking the first such shipment in a long time, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at edible oil trader GGN Research. India's palm oil imports are likely to fall to around 600,000 tons in October, while soyoil imports will likely exceed 450,000 tons, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, and imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. Nepal's edible oil imports were 35,000 tons in September, down from 95,000 tons in August, GGN Research estimated.