India's edible oil imports hit a four-year low, with stocks continuing to decline

On March 11th, Jinshi data, a leading industry institution, said on Tuesday that due to the decline in the import volume of soybean oil and sunflower seed oil, India’s edible oil imports in February plummeted to a four-year low, dragging stocks to the lowest level in three years. Two consecutive months of below-normal imports have depleted the stocks of this world’s largest vegetable oil buyer. This may force India to increase purchases in the coming months, thereby supporting Malaysian palm oil prices and U.S. soybean oil futures. Rajesh Patel, managing partner of edible oil trader GGN Research, said that palm oil and soybean oil imports may improve in March as the industry has been working to build inventory.