India, "the world's leading importer of palm oil"

 India is the world’s leading palm oil importer. Vegetable oils or cooking oils are the most used essentials of Indian kitchen. Indian domestic kitchens rely largely on cooking oils. Due to rising domestic demand, India makes huge imports of cooking oils in order to sustain its market. According to India import export data, the country's cooking oil imports increased to 24% during April in comparison to the same period during last year. 

Palm is the 8th most imported item of India. In April 2024, India imported around 13,18,515 tonnes of cooking oil. In terms of figures, the overall vegetable oil imports from India stood at around $2.2 billion during April. India's majority of cooking oil imports came from Singapore which had exported around $529 million in April. Also, there was a rise in cooking oil imports from Switzerland, Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates. 

Bunge Asia (Singapore), Louis Dreyfus (Switzerland), and Green Suppliers Foods (United Arab Emirates) were the top cooking oil export companies to India. In the last fiscal year, India's total palm oil imports hit a record $10 million metric tonnes. India import data shows that the country's palm oil imports were $19 billion in FY 2023. The most favoured destinations by India for palm oil imports were Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore. 

Indonesia accounted for 45% of India's overall palm oil imports. Along with Indonesia, Malaysia (30%), Thailand (9.5%), Singapore (3.4%) were other potential markets for palm oil imports from India. Also, there were notable cooking oil import shipments from Germany, United States and Sri Lanka. 

In terms of sunflower oil, India's sunflower oil imports rose to 3.85 MMT from 2.6 tonnes last year. India imported around $3 billion worth of sunflower oil during the past fiscal year. India's 33% share of sunflower oil imports came from the United Arab Emirates followed by Malaysia (16%), Nigeria (10%) and Singapore (7.5%).

Kaleesuwari Refinery, Adani Wilmar, and Gokul Agro Resources were the top sunflower oil import companies from India. India's soybean oil imports were estimated to be $5.2 billion in the last fiscal year. 45% of India's overall soybean oil imports came from Argentina. Whereas, Brazil was the second leading soybean oil supplier to India with 39% market share. The fastest growing market for India's soybean oil exports were Russia, Paraguay, Iraq and Thailand.

In terms of overall India edible oils exports, the numbers were relatively low. According to India export data, the country has exported over 49 lakh tonnes of edible oils during the past fiscal year. The exports were mainly to African countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sengal, Nepal, Malaysia and Denmark. Aiprime Nutritions, Allanasons,  and A1 Oil are the top vegetable oils exporting companies from India.

India is the top destination for edible vegetable oils. Over the years, India’s edible oil imports increased from Russia, Romania, Brazil, and Ukraine. Edible vegetable oil companies from these companies can extend their business in the Indian market through Global import export data provider.  It gives brief insights over India’s cooking oil imports, domestic buyers, their shipping volume and purchasing behaviour. It will help companies to build a strong presence in the Indian market and enhance production at relatively low cost.