20/05/2008 (Reuters), Jakarta - India is looking to buy 1.5 million tonnes of edible oil for the next three months starting from May in a bid to lock in supplies ahead of the festival season, a top industry official said on Tuesday.

Roughly 80 percent of the shipments will be made up of palm oil while the rest is soyoil as importers take advantage of palm oil's relatively lower landed cost, said B.V Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractor's Association of India.

"Demand will start rising from May and peak in July since the domestic crushing season already came to an end and retailers need to prepare for the festivals starting in August," Mehta told Reuters ahead of a three-day conference on the global palm oil industry.