logo
India's soyoil imports set for record high, palm oil at five-year low

India's soyoil imports set for record high, palm oil at five-year low

MUMBAI: India's soyoil imports are poised to surge 60% year-on-year to a record high in 2024/25, as refiners boost purchases due to cheaper prices compared with rival palm oil, shipments of which are set to hit a five-year low, six dealers told Reuters.
Higher soyoil purchases by India, the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils, will support global soyoil prices , which have risen 31% so far this year, but weigh on benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures.
In the 2024/25 marketing year ending in October, soyoil imports are likely to jump to 5.5 million metric tons, from 3.44 million tons a year ago, according to estimates from dealers.
Palm oil imports in the year, meanwhile, are likely to fall 13.5% from a year ago to 7.8 million metric tons, the lowest since 2019/20, dealers said. Sunflower oil imports could fall 20% to 2.8 million tons, the lowest in three years, they said.
Higher soyoil imports will lift India's total edible oil imports in the year by 1% to 16.1 million tons, dealers estimated.
Palm oil traded at a premium for many months this year, which prompted buyers to replace it with soyoil, said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India.
'Soyoil was cheap and plenty in stock, so it ended up grabbing palm oil's market share,' he said.
India's July palm oil imports drop as soyoil shipments surge, dealers say
Crude palm oil was commanding a premium of as high as $150 per ton over crude soyoil earlier this year due to tight supplies of the tropical oil in producer countries Malaysia and Indonesia.
Indian consumers are price-sensitive and had relied on palm oil because it was cheap. But its price rally prompted even large industrial buyers to look for alternatives, said Aashish Acharya, vice president at Patanjali Foods Ltd, a leading importer of edible oils.
While soyoil was initially being bought as a substitute for palm oil, it is now also replacing rapeseed oil, which has become more expensive due to a price rally in the past two months, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.
India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it typically imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
This year, however, India is likely to buy more than 600,000 tons of soyoil from Nepal, a New Delhi-based dealer said.
Soyoil shipments from Nepal are tax-free under the South Asian Free Trade Agreement, which is encouraging buyers from eastern India to source soyoil from the Himalayan country, he added.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Indian firms face steepest earnings cuts in Asia amid US tariff risks
Indian firms face steepest earnings cuts in Asia amid US tariff risks

Express Tribune

time2 hours ago

  • Express Tribune

Indian firms face steepest earnings cuts in Asia amid US tariff risks

ndia, the world's most populous nation, is a key market for American brands that have rapidly expanded to target a growing base of affluent consumers. PHOTO: REUTERS Indian companies have seen the steepest earnings downgrades in Asia, with analysts slashing forecasts as steep US tariffs heighten risks to growth even if proposed domestic tax cuts help cushion the impact. According to LSEG IBES data, forward 12-month earnings estimates for India's large and mid-cap firms have been cut by 1.2% in the past two weeks, the sharpest in Asia. The cuts follow a lacklustre season of quarterly earnings reports extending a bout of weakness among listed firms which kicked off last year and has hurt benchmark equity indexes. India's economy is largely domestic and firms which are part of the Nifty 50 index earn only 9% of revenue from the US but the tariff hike to as high as 50% on exports to the world's largest economy presents a risk to economic growth. Read More: India test-fires nuclear-capable Agni-5 missile amid US tariff tensions Analysis by MUFG indicates that a sustained 50% tariff could cut India's GDP growth by 1 percentage point over time, with the biggest hit to employment-sensitive sectors such as textiles. Looking to buoy domestic consumption, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced sweeping tax reforms to boost the economy in the face of a trade conflict with Washington. "It's a little bit of an interesting time given what's happened with the tariffs that have been imposed on India," said Raisah Rasid, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Valuations are still elevated and "we could potentially see the tariff triggering a broad valuation re-rating downwards and make some of the domestic oriented stocks attractive," she said. Earnings growth for Indian companies has been in single-digit percentages for five consecutive quarters, below the 15%–25% growth seen between 2020–21 and 2023–24. Following the April-June earnings announcements, forward 12-month net income forecasts for automobiles and components, capital goods, food and beverages, and consumer durables sectors saw the deepest cuts in earnings estimates, each down about 1% or more, the data showed. Also Read: Sony increases PlayStation 5 prices in US as tariffs and market slowdown drive costs higher The government's plans to lower consumption taxes are also expected to boost the country's GDP growth. Economists at Standard Chartered pencil in a boost of 0.35-0.45 percentage points in the fiscal year ending in March 2027. India's real GDP growth averaged 8.8% between fiscal 2022 and 2024, the highest in Asia-Pacific. It is projected to grow at 6.8% annually over the next three years. Bank of America's latest fund manager survey shows that India has tumbled from the most-favoured to the least-preferred Asian equity market in just two months. "After disappointing earnings growth of only 6% in 2024, the pace of recovery remains sluggish in 2025, as indicated by both the economic growth parameters and corporate earnings," said Rajat Agarwal, Asia equity strategist at Societe Generale.

India imports canola oil after 5 years as local prices surge
India imports canola oil after 5 years as local prices surge

Business Recorder

time2 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

India imports canola oil after 5 years as local prices surge

MUMBAI: India bought canola oil for delivery in August for the first time in nearly five years, as local prices hit a 3-½-year high, making overseas purchases lucrative, industry officials told Reuters. A shipment of 6,000 tons of canola oil from the United Arab Emirates is expected to arrive at Kandla port in Gujarat this month, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader. India mainly buys palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. In July, rapeseed oil prices in the spot market surged to 167,000 rupees ($1,914.02) per ton — the highest since February 2022 and almost 34% above year-ago levels. India snaps up steeply discounted palm oil from Colombia, Guatemala 'The price rally is creating an opening for imports, and we might see more coming in since the new local crop won't hit the market until March next year,' said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house. India's soyoil imports have also been rising, with some buyers substituting costlier rapeseed oil with the cheaper alternative, he said.

China eyes agricultural, mining cooperation with Pakistan, foreign minister says
China eyes agricultural, mining cooperation with Pakistan, foreign minister says

Business Recorder

time2 hours ago

  • Business Recorder

China eyes agricultural, mining cooperation with Pakistan, foreign minister says

BEIJING: China is willing to cooperate with Pakistan in industry, agriculture and mining, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar in Islamabad on Thursday, according to a readout of the meeting released by Wang's ministry. Beijing would continue to support Pakistan in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and combating terrorism, Wang told Dar, adding that China would continue to give priority to Pakistan in its regional diplomacy. Both countries should join hands to safeguard the multilateral trading system and oppose unilateral bullying, and upgrade the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he said. Wang, on a five-day tour of South Asia, has visited India and Afghanistan, mending and consolidating ties with China's neighbours to the south days before a leaders' summit in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to China - his first visit in seven years - to attend the summit. At a press briefing on Thursday, Wang also welcomed Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to attend both the summit and activities to mark the formal surrender of Japan at the end of World War Two, which will feature a massive military parade in Beijing. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the parade in the Chinese capital on September 3. During Thursday's meeting with Dar, Wang again urged Pakistan to 'effectively safeguard the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and organisations in Pakistan'. Over the years China has poured billions of dollars into infrastructure projects in Pakistan under the Belt and Road Initiative. But security concerns have mounted, with Chinese workers repeatedly targeted in what Beijing has called terrorist attacks in the South Asian nation. 'China appreciates Pakistan's unremitting efforts and great sacrifices made in combating terrorism,' Wang said, according to a Chinese ministry statement.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store