India saw a 5.55 percent rise in edible oil imports in August, driven primarily by an increase in shipments of crude palm oil (CPO).
Per the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA), India imported 16.21 lakh tonnes (lt) of edible oil in August 2025, compared to 15.36 lt in August 2024. The import of CPO, which constitutes a significant portion of total edible oil imports, surged by 39.79 percent in August. The country imported 9.79 lt of CPO in August 2025, up from 7 lt in August 2024.
During the first 10 months of the oil year 2024-25 (November-October), India imported 123.78 lt of edible oil, down from 134.71 lt during the same period the previous year, reflecting a decrease of 8.11 percent (excluding imports from Nepal).
India’s CPO imports dropped to 50.89 lt in November-August 2024-25 from 59.40 lt in the corresponding period of the previous oil year 2023-24.
Significant Decline in Palmolein Imports
A considerable decline was observed in RBD palmolein imports during the first 10 months of the oil year 2024-25.
BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA, noted that the increased import duty difference between CPO and RBD palmolein—from 8.25 percent to 19.25 percent effective May 31, 2025—rendered the import of refined oil economically unviable. Consequently, the imports of refined oil decreased to 5,000 tonnes in July 2025 and 8,000 tonnes in August 2025, compared to 1.36 lt in July 2024 and 92,130 tonnes in August 2024.
He characterized the government’s decision to raise the duty difference as a decisive and timely action, successfully discouraging the import of refined palmolein. This shift redirected demand back towards crude edible oils, invigorating the domestic refining sector.
This approach aligns with the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Make in India,’ which promotes domestic manufacturing, enhances capacity utilization, encourages value addition, and generates employment opportunities, creating a win-win scenario for both the industry and consumers.
Mentioning that Nepal traded refined soybean oil and sunflower oil, and a small quantity of RBD palmolein and rapeseed oil to India under the SAFTA agreement at nil duty, he shared that imports from Nepal reached 5.89 lt from November 2024 to July 2025. Including these figures, the total edible oils imports amounted to 129.7 lt during the first 10 months of the 2024-25 oil year.
Refined vs Crude
During the first 10 months of the oil year 2024-25, India imported 9.95 lt of refined oil (RBD palmolein), down from 16.10 lt in November-August 2023-24, and 113.82 lt of crude edible oils, compared to 118.60 lt. The ratio of refined oil imports decreased to 8 percent from 12 percent due to reduced RBD palmolein imports, while the ratio of crude edible oils increased to 92 percent from 88 percent, attributed to a rise in soybean oil imports.
India’s soybean oil imports grew to 38.90 lt during November-August 2024-25, up from 27.14 lt, while sunflower oil imports dipped to 23.49 lt, down from 31.14 lt during the same timeframe.
Leading Exporters
From November-August 2024-25, Indonesia was the leading exporter, sending 22.61 lt of CPO and 8.30 lt of RBD palmolein. Malaysia followed with 20.21 lt of CPO and 1.29 lt of RBD palmolein.
Additionally, India imported 23.85 lt of crude soybean degummed oil from Argentina, 8.86 lt from Brazil, 1.88 lt from the US, and 1.92 lt from Russia.
India’s imports of crude sunflower oil included 12.02 lt from Russia, 5.76 lt from Ukraine, and 3.77 lt from Argentina.
Published on September 15, 2025
