BY RAJENDRA JADHAV
KUALA LUMPUR- India’s edible oil imports in February plunged to their lowest level in four years due to a fall in soyoil and sunflower oil imports, although palm oil imports improved from their lowest level in nearly 14 years, hit in January, five dealers said.
Lower-than-normal imports for the second straight month have depleted stocks in the world’s biggest buyer of vegetable oils and could force India to increase purchases in coming months, supporting Malaysian palm oil prices and US soyoil futures Boc2.
Palm oil imports rose 36 percent in February from the previous month to 374,000 metric tons after falling to their lowest level since March 2011 in January, according to estimates from dealers.
India imported an average of more than 750,000 tons of palm oil every month in the marketing year that ended in October 2024, says trade body the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India, which is set to publish its February import data by mid-March.
Soyoil imports in February plunged 36 percent from a month earlier to 284,000 metric tons, the lowest in eight months, while sunflower oil imports fell 22 percent to 226,000 metric tons, the lowest in five months, dealers said.
Lower shipments of soyoil and sunflower oil brought down the country’s total edible oil imports in February by 12 percent to 884,000 tons, the lowest since February 2021, according to dealers’ estimates.
Elevated overseas prices and higher supplies of local edible oils prompted refiners to reduce imports in February, said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage.
Lower February imports have brought down edible oil stocks in India by 26 percent from a month ago to 1.6 million tons on March 1, the lowest in more than 4-years, dealers estimate.
After unusually low imports in January and February, the country’s imports could start increasing from March onwards, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader.
India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.
Meanwhile, India’s finished steel imports from China, South Korea and Japan hit a record high in the first 10 months of the financial year, according to provisional government data seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
India, the world’s second-biggest crude steel producer, shipped in record quantities of finished steel during April-January, and was a net importer, Reuters had reported earlier.
Imports of finished steel from South Korea stood at 2.4 million metric tons, up 11.7 percent on year, the data showed. South Korea was the biggest exporter of the alloy to India during the period.
Finished steel shipments from China stood at 2.3 million metric tons during April-January, up 3.4 percent on year.
Finished steel imports from Japan stood at 1.8 million metric tons, up 88.6 percent on year, the data showed.
Imports from China, South Korea and Japan accounted for 78 percent of India’s overall finished steel imports.
India’s fiscal year runs April through March.
Imports from Indonesia stood at 0.3 million metric tons, up nearly three times from a year ago period.
Hot-rolled coil or strips were the most imported grades, the data showed, while bars and rods led shipments in the non-flat steel products category.
In December, India launched an investigation to determine whether it needed to impose a safeguard duty or a temporary tax to rein in unbridled imports of steel.
Last month, India’s Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy told Reuters the government could impose a safeguard duty of 15 percent to 25 percent on steel imports.
Meanwhile, exports of finished steel slumped to an at least seven-year low during April to January.
Finished steel exports to Italy, the biggest export destination, nearly halved during the period.
Exports to Belgium, Nepal and Spain also fell during April-January, the data showed. —Reuters
