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India’s Edible Oil import bill surges 19% to Rs 87,000 crore amid currency depreciation
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Monday, 18 May, 2026, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwani Maindola, New Delhi
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India’s vegetable oil imports for the first half of the 2025–26 oil year (November 2025 – April 2026) jumped 13% to 7,937,376 tonnes, up from 7,042,948 tonnes during the same period last year.
Driven by rising global prices and a 9.2% depreciation of the Indian rupee, the financial toll was heavy, with the six-month edible oil import bill surging 19% to approximately ?87,000 crore compared to Rs 73,000 crore previously.
Data compiled by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) revealed that monthly edible oil imports in April 2026 rebounded to 13.08 lakh tons, marking an 11% increase from March.
A massive structural shift was also visible in purchasing patterns. Driven by an increase in crude palm oil (CPO) shipments, the import ratio of refined oils collapsed from 16% last year to just 3%. Conversely, crude oil imports skyrocketed to a 97% market share—a transition that has significantly boosted capacity utilization and value addition for domestic Indian refiners.
Total palm oil imports during the six-month period rose to 3.96 million tons, capturing a 51% market share. However, a global price rally eroded palm oil's customary discount, causing April imports to drop 34% to 505,000 tons. This prompted refiners to pivot toward alternatives, pushing soft oil imports up 25% month-on-month.
Geographically, Indonesia and Malaysia maintained dominance, supplying 1.63 million tonnes and 1.52 million tonnes of palm oil, respectively. Argentina led soybean oil supplies at 1.65 million tonnes. Russia and Ukraine topped sunflower oil shipments, supplying 850,000 tonnes and 270,000 tonnes, respectively. Neighbouring Nepal also contributed 190,148 tons of refined oils.
While a domestic mustard-crushing boom keeps immediate supplies stable, the SEA noted that total port and pipeline stocks remain firm at 2.12 million tons, shielding consumers from immediate shortages.
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