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India's soyoil imports hit record 601,000 tonnes in August
India's soyoil imports hit a record 601,000 tonnes in August, with palm oil at a six-month high, as refiners stock up for the festival season, dealers said.
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Indian refiners imported a record amount of soyoil in August and the highest volume of palm oil in six months as they built stocks ahead of the festival season, five dealers said.
Palm oil imports rose 7% from a month earlier to 780,000 metric tonnes, dealers' average estimates showed. Soyoil imports jumped 21% month-on-month to a record 601,000 tonnes. Sunflower oil shipments fell 38% to a six-month low of 157,000 tonnes.
Total edible oil imports rose 4% to an 11-month high of 1.54 million tonnes, driven by higher shipments of palm oil and soyoil. The figures exclude duty-free shipments arriving via land from neighbouring Nepal, the dealers said. About 100,000 tonnes of edible oils, including 90,000 tonnes of soyoil, were imported from Nepal in August, they said.
The Solvent Extractors' Association of India is due to publish its August import data by mid-September.
Refiners increased purchases to meet festive demand and because nearby deliveries were cheaper than shipments for later months, said Rajesh Patel, managing partner at trader GGN Research in Rajkot, Gujarat.