India palm oil imports continue to be below average in May despite a slight increase.

India's palm-oil imports rose in May after a four month low. However, they remained below normal levels as refiners purchased more soyoil, which was cheaper, following the waning of palm oil's price advantage.

Stocks in the top two producers, Indonesia and Malaysia could grow due to lower-than-normal imports by the largest buyer of vegetable oil in the world. This would put pressure on Malaysian palm futures.

The Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA), in a press release, said that India's imports of palm oil?in may were up 7% compared to April, at 549,356 metric tonnes.

According to the SEA, India imported palm oil on average 632,000 tonnes per month in?the marketing period ended October 2025.

A Mumbai-based dealer at a global trading house said that restaurants and other commercial consumers haven't bought as much palm oil due to cooking gas shortages. This has weighed on imports.

The industry trade group said that imports of sunflower oil decreased by nearly 32%, to 295 726 tons. Imports soyoil increased by 37%, to 493 854 tons.

The SEA reported that the increase in palm oil and soybean oil imports boosted total vegetable oil imports by 4.2% in May compared to a month ago, reaching 1.37 million tonnes, the highest level in three months.

The SEA reported that India's imports of vegetable oil in the first seven?months?of 2026/27, which began November 1, were up?12% compared to a year -earlier, at 9.2 million tonnes.

In June, palm oil imports will likely exceed 600,000 tons. Soyoil imports may fall to around 350,000 tons. This is according to Rajesh Patel of GGN Research, located in Rajkot in western Gujarat.

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

(source: Reuters)