India's imports of palm oils decline by 29.15% in December 2021: SEA
- IBEF
- January 13, 2022
The Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) warned on Wednesday that while India's imports of palm oils fell by 29.15% to 5,44,000 tonnes in December 2021, the spike in shipments of RBD palmolein is threatening the existence of domestic refineries.
In December 2020, India, the world's largest buyer of vegetable oils, imported 7,68,392 tonnes of palm oils. Imports of palm oil declined to 5,44,343 tonnes in December of last year.
In December 2021, the country's total vegetable oil imports fell 10% to 12.26 lakh tonnes (1,226,000) , down from 13.56 lakh tonnes (1,356,000) the previous year.
Palm oil accounts for more than 60% of the country's total vegetable oil imports.
Because RBD palmolein is allowed to be imported with lower duty till March 2022, Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) estimates that roughly 10,00,000 – 12,00,000 tonnes of RBD palmolein will be imported during the January-March quarter, replacing much of the crude palm Oil (CPO) due to a processing cost gap of Rs 6,000-8,000 (US$ 81 – US$ 108) per tonne.
"It indicates that Indian refiners have a heavy disparity and will compel them to close down the palm oil refineries," it added.
Crude Palm Kernel Oil (CPKO) shipments also decreased to 13,800 tonnes from 19,486 tonnes in the same time last year.
RBD palmolein imports, on the other hand, increased to 24,000 tonnes in December 2021 from 900 tonnes the previous year.
Soyabean oil imports grew by 21.57% to 3.92 lakh tonnes (392,000) in December last year, compared to 3.22 lakh tonnes (322,000) in December 2020.
Similarly, sunflower oil exports increased 10% to 2.58 lakh tonnes (258,000) in December 2021, up from 2.34 lakh tonnes (234,000) the previous year.
Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) estimates that edible oil stock as of January 1 was 5.80 lakh tonnes (580,000), with another 11.40 lakh tonnes (1,140,000) in the pipeline.
India imports palm oil primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia, as well as a minor amount of crude soft oil from Argentina, including soyabean oil. Ukraine and Russia are the main suppliers of sunflower oil.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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