India's 2025-26 vegetable oil imports rise 13% to 7.94 MMT
India saw a big boost in vegetable oil imports during November-April 2025-26, rising 13% to hit 7.94 million metric tons.
A large share of this came from palm oil, which nearly doubled compared with the same period a year earlier (Nov-Apr 2024-25), while soybean and sunflower oils actually dropped a bit.
The numbers come from the Solvent Extractors Association of India.
Edible oils dominate imports, bill ₹87,000cr
Nearly all the imported oil was edible (7.82 million metric tons), with non-edible oils barely making a dent at just 121,000 metric tons.
This surge pushed the import bill up by 19% to ₹87,000 crore, partly because the rupee lost value against the dollar.
Major suppliers included Indonesia and Malaysia for palm oil; Argentina and Brazil for soybean; Russia and Ukraine for sunflower; plus Nepal chipped in with refined oils.
Vegetable oil stocks hit 2.12 MMT
Thanks to higher imports, India's vegetable oil stocks grew from 1.35 million metric tons last May to 2.12 million metric tons now—so there should be plenty available in stores over the coming months, helping keep prices steady and meet demand.