According to industry data, vegetable oil imports in India decreased by 16% to 9.98 lakh tonnes in March, primarily due to a significant drop in crude sunflower oil shipments. The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) reported that the import of both edible and non-edible vegetable oils fell to 9,98,344 tonnes in March 2025, compared to 11,82,152 tonnes in the same month of the previous year.
Edible oil imports specifically declined to 9,70,602 tonnes in March 2025 from 11,49,681 tonnes during the same period in the previous year. The imports of crude sunflower oil experienced a notable decrease, falling to 1,90,645 tonnes last month from 4,45,723 tonnes in March 2024.
Non-edible oil imports also declined to 27,742 tonnes from 32,471 tonnes. In the first five months of the 2024-25 oil marketing year, starting in November, total vegetable oil imports slightly decreased to 58,06,142 tonnes compared to 58,30,115 tonnes in the corresponding period the previous year. The oil year is measured from November to October.
Among the total edible oil imports from November 2024 to March 2025, the SEA noted that 6,62,890 tonnes of refined oil (RBD Palmolein) were imported, down from 886,607 tonnes in the same period the previous year. In contrast, crude oil imports increased to 49,76,787 tonnes from 48,78,625 tonnes.
During the November 2024 to March 2025 period, palm oil imports significantly decreased to 24,15,556 tonnes from 35,29,839 tonnes in the same period from the previous year, while soft oil imports rose to 32,24,121 tonnes from 22,35,394 tonnes. Indonesia and Malaysia remain major suppliers of RBD Palmolein and crude palm oil to India.