India's cooking oil imports hit a record high in 2013/14 due to a surge in overseas purchases of soy and sunflower oils, a trade body said on Thursday, adding that low global prices could spur even higher imports in the current year.
Record imports by the world's top buyer could provide some support to global prices. Malaysian palm oil futures, the regional benchmark, have fallen nearly 17 percent in 2014 because of high unsold stocks in Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, the world's top producer.
India mainly buys palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, plus smaller quantities of soyoil from Brazil and Argentina. The South Asian country also buys small amounts of sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia.
Imports of all cooking oils rose to 11.62 million tonnes in the year that ended in October from 10.38 million a year earlier, the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said on Thursday.
That 12 percent increase was mainly due to a surge in imports of soy and sunflower oil at the expense of palm oil, imports of which fell for the first time in four years.
"India has imported the highest quantity of soybean and sunflower due to attractive prices," said B.V. Mehta, SEA executive director.
"We will have one more year of record imports if the current trend continues," Mehta said. "Low global prices with an increasing population promise record import levels."
Soyoil imports rose 79 percent to around 2 million tonnes in 2013/14, while sunflower oil imports rose by more than half to 1.5 million tonnes.
Imports of palm oil fell to 7.96 million tonnes, down 4 percent from the previous year.
The rise in imports has led to calls by local producers for an increase in import taxes to stem the tide.
India's food minister has favoured raising taxes on cooking oils to help refiners and oilseed growers.
On Thursday, imported palm oil was quoted at $690-$715 a tonne on India's west coast, while soyoil and sunflower was quoted at $830 and $905 a tonne respectively.
Imported palm oil was cheaper by $150-$200 a tonne than a year ago, while soyoil was down $165-$175 and sunflower oil $100 a tonne, traders said.
Source: in.reuters.com
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