India imported more edible oils in the first half of the 2025-26 oil year (November to October), leading to a 13.66% increase in volume and a 19% jump in value, according to data from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
The country imported 78.15 lakh tonnes (lt) of edible oils during November 2025 to April 2026, compared to 68.76 lt in the same period last year. The value of these imports rose to approximately ₹87,000 crore from ₹73,000 crore a year ago.
Palm oil loses ground in April as prices rally
While overall imports increased to 13.07 lt in April from 11.73 lt in March, palm oil imports declined sharply during the month. India imported 5.10 lt of crude palm oil (CPO) in April against 6.73 lt in March – a drop of 24.21%. RBD palmolein imports crashed 88.62% to just 1,536 tonnes.
SEA Executive Director BV Mehta said weak demand and higher prices caused this decline. A price rally in palm oil reduced its discount to rival oils, making it less attractive to refiners.
Sunflower and soybean oil fill the gap
Refiners quickly shifted to alternatives. Sunflower oil imports more than doubled to 4.34 lt in April from 1.96 lt in March. Soybean oil imports rose 25% month-on-month to 3.60 lt.
However, for the full six-month period, palm oil imports still increased overall – to 39.67 lt from 27.44 lt in the previous year.
Prices and rupee cause concern
Mehta noted that import prices increased significantly in April 2026 compared to April 2025 – palm oil up 14-15%, and soybean and sunflower oils up 17-22%.
The rupee depreciated by over 9.2% in the last year, which Mehta called a cause of concern for Indian importers and refiners.
Key suppliers and the Nepal factor
Indonesia supplied 16.3 lt and Malaysia 15.2 lt of palm oil to India during H1. For soybean oil, Argentina supplied 13.32 lt followed by Brazil at 4.25 lt. Russia and Ukraine exported 8.1 lt and 2.74 lt of sunflower oil respectively.
Nepal exported around 2.17 lt of refined oils (mostly soybean oil) during November-February, and another 1.28 lt in March-April.
Outlook for coming months
Mehta said that while current supplies remain sufficient due to high domestic mustard seed crushing, low inventory levels may prompt increased imports in the coming months.
