MARKET DEVELOPMENT
UPDATE 1-India\'s May Refined Palm Oil Imports Hit Record High
UPDATE 1-India\'s May Refined Palm Oil Imports Hit Record High
14/06/2013 (Reuters) - India's refined palm oil imports hit a record high in May by jumping 47.5 percent from April, a leading trade body said, pushing total purchases of the tropical oil up for the first time since January on lower prices and tight domestic supplies.
The world's top buyer of vegetable oils imported 373,837 tonnes of refined palm oil in May, the Solvent Extractors' Association said in a statement on Thursday, up for a third straight month as the spread between the refined and crude variants narrowed.
The jump in refined palm oil purchases will raise the clamour for increasing import duties to protect local oilseed growers and refiners against cheaper supplies from major exporters Indonesia and Malaysia.
But the Indian government is yet to pay any heed as inflation has only just reached comfortable levels.
"Surge in the refined palm oil imports has been due to a narrow spread with the crude variant," said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Mumbai-based trade body.
Refined palm oil's premium to crude palm narrowed to $11 in May, down from $22 in April and $32 in March.
Total palm oil imports in May stood at 771,869 tonnes, up 54.7 percent from the previous month, the monthly data released by the Mumbai-based trade body showed.
A Reuters survey had forecast average palm oil imports at 770,833 tonnes in May, including 333,333 tonnes of the refined variant.
India imports about 60 percent of its cooking oil needs of 17 million tonnes, with palm oil's share at nearly 80 percent. In 2011/12, the country imported 10 million tonnes of cooking oils. India buys mainly palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia and a small quantity of soyoil from Brazil and Argentina.
Palm oil imports reached an all-time high in January this year as top producers Indonesia and Malaysia made exports attractive by varying tax levels. But imports dropped for the next three months after India slapped a duty on crude palm oil.
The previous record for India's refined palm oil imports was hit in February 2012 at 304,048 tonnes.
Imports of vegetable oils, including non-edible oils, rose 40.2 percent to 917,964 tonnes in May, after dropping for the past three months, mainly due to the surge in palm oil imports.
Monthly soyoil imports rose 2.7 percent as local supplies are almost exhausted before the new planting season for soybean. Planting of the main oilseed crop soybean takes place in June-July, while its harvesting takes place in October.
Sunflower imports dropped 23.3 percent as the expensive oil is used less in the hot season, when the appetite for fried foods typically dwindles.
The world's top buyer of vegetable oils imported 373,837 tonnes of refined palm oil in May, the Solvent Extractors' Association said in a statement on Thursday, up for a third straight month as the spread between the refined and crude variants narrowed.
The jump in refined palm oil purchases will raise the clamour for increasing import duties to protect local oilseed growers and refiners against cheaper supplies from major exporters Indonesia and Malaysia.
But the Indian government is yet to pay any heed as inflation has only just reached comfortable levels.
"Surge in the refined palm oil imports has been due to a narrow spread with the crude variant," said B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Mumbai-based trade body.
Refined palm oil's premium to crude palm narrowed to $11 in May, down from $22 in April and $32 in March.
Total palm oil imports in May stood at 771,869 tonnes, up 54.7 percent from the previous month, the monthly data released by the Mumbai-based trade body showed.
A Reuters survey had forecast average palm oil imports at 770,833 tonnes in May, including 333,333 tonnes of the refined variant.
India imports about 60 percent of its cooking oil needs of 17 million tonnes, with palm oil's share at nearly 80 percent. In 2011/12, the country imported 10 million tonnes of cooking oils. India buys mainly palm oil from Malaysia and Indonesia and a small quantity of soyoil from Brazil and Argentina.
Palm oil imports reached an all-time high in January this year as top producers Indonesia and Malaysia made exports attractive by varying tax levels. But imports dropped for the next three months after India slapped a duty on crude palm oil.
The previous record for India's refined palm oil imports was hit in February 2012 at 304,048 tonnes.
Imports of vegetable oils, including non-edible oils, rose 40.2 percent to 917,964 tonnes in May, after dropping for the past three months, mainly due to the surge in palm oil imports.
Monthly soyoil imports rose 2.7 percent as local supplies are almost exhausted before the new planting season for soybean. Planting of the main oilseed crop soybean takes place in June-July, while its harvesting takes place in October.
Sunflower imports dropped 23.3 percent as the expensive oil is used less in the hot season, when the appetite for fried foods typically dwindles.