India's sunflower oil imports hit four-year low on Black Sea disruption; palm oil rises

Business Recorder reported that India's sunflower oil imports slipped in September to their weakest level in over four years, as the Ukraine conflict interrupted deliveries. Five dealers said refiners responded by lifting palm oil purchases to a seven-month high. The shift could aid palm oil producers Indonesia and Malaysia by drawing down their inventories and lending support to benchmark futures.

Sunflower oil arrivals dropped 36% from the previous month to 103,000 metric tons, the lowest since April 2022, based on average estimates from dealers. Palm oil imports climbed 3.5% on the month to 810,000 tons, a seven-month top, while soyoil shipments declined 4.6% to 600,000 tons. Across all edible oils, total imports slid 3.75% to 1.5 million tons, mainly due to lower sunflower and soyoil volumes.

Rajesh Patel of trading firm GGN Research in Rajkot said damage to Black Sea port facilities has made sunflower oil hard to ship to India, despite strong demand. He expects arrivals to stay weak in October because of logistical constraints. A Mumbai-based dealer at a global trade house said refiners bought palm oil to build stocks before the festival season, a period when demand typically peaks between September and November.