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March Palm Oil Imports Up 57% Year On Year

India's palm oil imports increased in March
India's palm oil imports increased in March

India's palm oil imports in March jumped 57% year on year as refiners upped purchases of the commodity in order to cut down on dearer sunflower oil imports, according to a statement issued by the trade body Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) on Wednesday.

In March, India imported 5,26,463 tonnes of palm oil last month, while shipments of soy oil eased by 3% to 2,84,200 tonnes, the statement further said.

Sunflower oil imports halved to 1,46,970 tonnes in March after prices more than doubled in a year, SEA said. India buys palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia while other oils, including soy oil and sunflower oil, are sourced from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine and Russia.

India's rising edible oil imports could be kept in check in the coming months by a record crop of rapeseed mustard, the SEA said.