COMMODITY
Edible oil imports of India fall 7% to 15.44 lakh tonnes in September 2026: SEA
Oct-16-2026

The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) has said that edible oil imports of India fell 7 per cent to 15.44 lakh tonnes in September 2026, as compared to 16.58 lakh tonnes in the same month last year, mainly due to a sharp decline in shipments of crude sunflower oil. However, total edible oil imports rose 3 per cent to 151.64 lakh tonnes in the first eleven months of the 2025-26 oil year (November-October) from 146.83 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous oil year.

According to SEA data, imports of crude sunflower oil in September plunged to nearly 1.05 lakh tonnes from 2.72 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. Total vegetable oil (edible and non-edible) imports stood at 154.64 lakh tonnes from November 2025 to September 2026 compared to 150.31 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. 

The SEA said during November 2025 to September 2026, refined oil imports declined sharply to 7,40,441 tonnes from 16,89,228 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year. As a result, the share of refined oil in total edible oil imports declined to 5 per cent from 12 per cent. This is mainly due to negligible imports of refined palmolein from Indonesia and Malaysia. 

At the same time, imports of crude edible oils rose substantially to 1,44,23,939 tonnes from 1,29,93,972 tonnes, with their share increasing to 95 per cent from 88 per cent. It said the increase was primarily driven by higher imports of crude palm oil, which replaced imports of refined palmolein. Nepal's exports of refined soybean oil to India have also increased significantly.

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