MARKET DEVELOPMENT
UPDATE 1-India's Nov Palm Oil Imports Down, Refined Variant up on Low Spread
UPDATE 1-India's Nov Palm Oil Imports Down, Refined Variant up on Low Spread
13/12/2013 (Reuters) - India's palm oil imports edged lower in November for their first month-on-month decline since August due to a lull in demand at the start of the winter season but the fall was smaller than expected as shipments of the refined variant surged.
The world's leading palm oil buyer imported 774,207 tonnes last month, down 1 percent from the 782,467 tonnes shipped in October, India's Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said in a statement.
But that was still better than the average forecast for palm oil imports of 729,167 tonnes, due to a 35 percent jump in shipments of the refined variant of the oil to 208,076 tonnes.
Still, India's lower imports could pressure Malaysian crude palm oil futures. The benchmark was down 0.3 percent on Thursday afternoon after being higher at midday.
India, the world's leading buyer of edible oils, imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm oil accounts for nearly 80 percent of the country's total cooking oil imports and New Delhi relies on imports for about 60 percent of its annual vegetable oil demand of 17-18 million tonnes.
The November palm oil imports fell as cold weather in the north solidifies the oil and makes it unusable.
But a narrowing price differential between crude and refined palm oil helped boost month-on-month shipments of the refined variant for the first time since September.
Average spread between crude and refined palm oil stood at only $1 per tonne as compared to the previous month's spread of $5 a tonne, SEA data showed.
"A narrow spread favoured the monthly imports of refined palm oil," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Mumbai-based trading house Sunvin Group.
The rise in the refined oil imports could encourage the Indian government to increase the import duty to provide relief to domestic refiners who had complained about falling margins due to surge in the refined imports.
India's total palm oil imports jumped 26 percent from a year ago, the SEA data showed.
Imports of soyoil dropped drastically in November as local soybean crushing had improved from the previous month when rains hit arrivals of the newly-harvested oilseed crop.
Soyoil imports were at 14,980 tonnes in November, down 85 percent from the previous month, the SEA data showed. India imports small quantities of soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.
The South Asian country's total vegetable oil imports, including non-edible oils, dropped 7.6 percent in November to 944,309 tonnes from the previous month.
The world's leading palm oil buyer imported 774,207 tonnes last month, down 1 percent from the 782,467 tonnes shipped in October, India's Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) said in a statement.
But that was still better than the average forecast for palm oil imports of 729,167 tonnes, due to a 35 percent jump in shipments of the refined variant of the oil to 208,076 tonnes.
Still, India's lower imports could pressure Malaysian crude palm oil futures. The benchmark was down 0.3 percent on Thursday afternoon after being higher at midday.
India, the world's leading buyer of edible oils, imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia. Palm oil accounts for nearly 80 percent of the country's total cooking oil imports and New Delhi relies on imports for about 60 percent of its annual vegetable oil demand of 17-18 million tonnes.
The November palm oil imports fell as cold weather in the north solidifies the oil and makes it unusable.
But a narrowing price differential between crude and refined palm oil helped boost month-on-month shipments of the refined variant for the first time since September.
Average spread between crude and refined palm oil stood at only $1 per tonne as compared to the previous month's spread of $5 a tonne, SEA data showed.
"A narrow spread favoured the monthly imports of refined palm oil," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Mumbai-based trading house Sunvin Group.
The rise in the refined oil imports could encourage the Indian government to increase the import duty to provide relief to domestic refiners who had complained about falling margins due to surge in the refined imports.
India's total palm oil imports jumped 26 percent from a year ago, the SEA data showed.
Imports of soyoil dropped drastically in November as local soybean crushing had improved from the previous month when rains hit arrivals of the newly-harvested oilseed crop.
Soyoil imports were at 14,980 tonnes in November, down 85 percent from the previous month, the SEA data showed. India imports small quantities of soyoil from Argentina and Brazil.
The South Asian country's total vegetable oil imports, including non-edible oils, dropped 7.6 percent in November to 944,309 tonnes from the previous month.