Palm Imports by India Seen Tumbling First Time in Four Years

Palm oil imports by India, the world’s biggest buyer, may drop for the first time in four years as record global cooking oil supplies reduce the tropical oil’s discount to soybean and sunflower oils.

Shipments may decline 8.4 percent to 7.6 million metric tons in the year started Oct. 1 from 8.3 million tons a year earlier, Govindlal G. Patel, managing partner at G.G. Patel & Nikhil Research Co., told reporters in Mumbai today. That would be the first decline since 2009-2010, according to data from the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India. Soybean oil imports are seen 61 percent higher at 1.75 million tons, while sunflower oil imports will jump 49 percent to 1.45 million tons, he said.