Dealers say that India's imports of soyoil and palm oil reached a record high in August, as well as a six-month high.

Five dealers said that Indian refiners imported the largest amount of palm oil in six months and a record volume of soyoil during August to build stocks for 'the festival season.

The world's largest importer of vegetable oil, Indonesia, Malaysia and Argentina could benefit from higher palm oil and soyoil purchases by helping top producers Indonesia and Malaysia to reduce stocks and support benchmark palm and soyoil prices.

The average estimate of the dealers showed that India's imports of palm oil rose by 7% in August compared to a month before, reaching 780,000 metric tonnes.

Imports of soyoil rose 21% to 601,000 tons in a single month, while sunflower oil shipments dropped 38% to 157,000 tons, a six-month-low.

The increase in edible oil imports was 4%, reaching a 11-month high at 1.54 million tonnes. This was mainly due to the increased shipments of palm and soyoil.

Dealers said that the figures do not include duty-free shipments from Nepal.

In August, about 100,000 tons of edible oils, including 90,000. tons of soyoil were imported from Nepal, according to the report.

By mid-September, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India will publish its August import statistics.

Refiners bought more to meet the festive demand, and because local deliveries were cheaper than those for later months. This was said by?Rajesh patel, managing director at trader GGN in Rajkot, in western Gujarat.

India celebrates several?festivals between August and Novembre, when the demand for edible oil?typically peaks.

Sandeep Bajoria of Sunvin Group in Mumbai, the chief executive officer of a vegetable oil broker, said that soyoil imports increased as palm oil was less expensive. Meanwhile, sunflower oil shipments to the Black Sea were disrupted due to an escalation between Russia and Ukraine.

India imports most of its palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia. Soyoil, sunflower oil, and other oils are mostly imported from Argentina, Brazil and Ukraine.

Bajoria stated that Indian imports of palm and soyoil oil will be high even in September.

(source: Reuters)