India's sunflower oil imports seen up 30%

MUMBAI: India's sunflower oil imports are likely to rise 30% in the 2026/27 marketing year to 3.5 million metric tons, as a cut in import duties has lowered prices and boosted demand, the head of a leading industry body told Reuters on Wednesday.The surge in sunflower oil imports is expected to reduce soyoil purchases by 10.7% to 5 million tons in the next marketing year starting from November 1, said Angshu Mallick, president of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA)."Because of the duty cut, sunflower oil is now more affordable for consumers. The duty reduction is expected to boost consumption," Mallick said on the sidelines of the Globoil conference.India last week cut the basic import duty on crude sunflower oil to zero from 10%.Palm oil imports in the new year are likely to remain steady at around 8 million tons, although purchases could be affected by rising prices amid concerns over supplies due to the El Nino weather pattern, he said.Palm oil could trade at a premium to soyoil in 2027 as El Nino threatens production and rising biodiesel demand in top exporter Indonesia tightens supplies, Eddy Martono, chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association, said on Tuesday.India meets nearly two-thirds of its vegetable oil demand through imports, mainly palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil from Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina, Russia and Ukraine.India's total vegetable oil imports are likely to remain largely steady at 16.5 million to 17 million tons in the 2026/27 marketing year, although purchases could rise by 1 million tons if lower rainfall affects the domestic rapeseed crop, he said.Rapeseed is the main winter-sown oilseed crop in India with an oil content of nearly 40%, and typically plays a key role in determining the country's edible oil supplies.The northwestern state of Rajasthan, which accounts for nearly half of India's rapeseed production, received 22% less rainfall than average during the June-September monsoon season.