15/08/2013 (Reuters) - India's refined palm oil imports fell 28 percent in July from a month ago, a leading trade body said, as weakness in the rupee currency made overseas purchases dearer.

The world's leading buyer of vegetable oils imported 213,853 tonnes of refined palm oil in July, the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

Total palm oil imports in July also fell, by 14 percent, to 577,753 tonnes 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 570,143 tonnes in July, including 217,628 tonnes of the refined variant.