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India's palm oil imports rose by 5% to 8,36,447 tonnes in December 2014 compared to November 2014 due to cheaper shipments from Indonesia and Malaysia, Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said today.
India, the world's leading vegetable oil buyer, had purchased 7,96,587 tonnes of palm oil in November.
The December figure was, however, lower than 8,63,205 tonnes in the same month in 2013.
Palm oils make up 70% of the country's total vegetable oil imports. India meets 60% of its annual vegetable oil demand of 17-18 million tonnes via imports.
According to the SEA, palm oil imports have risen as Indonesia and Malaysia have slapped zero export duty to clear surplus stock amid reduced global demand of crude palm oil (CPO) for bio-diesel production.
Global prices of palm oil products have also been ruling downward for the past one year even as rupee remained more or less at same level against the US dollar, it said.
Among palm oil products, import of refined palm oil (RBD Palmolein) declined by 73% to 45,031 tonnes in December 2014, from 1,64,026 tonnes in the year-ago, while that of CPO rose to 7,78,815 tonnes from 6,91,740 tonnes in the review period.
Import of soft oils comprising soyabean and sunflower oils increased to 2,85,143 tonnes in December 2014 from 1,89,345 tonnes in the same month in 2013.
The country's total vegetable oil imports increased by 16% to 23,29,520 tonnes in the November-December period of the 2014-15 oil year, as against 20,12,018 tonnes in the year-ago period.
India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia and a small quantity of crude soft oils, including soyabean oil, from Latin America. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia.
