Soyabean oil imports hit seasonal high in Aug amid fall in local soyabean prices below MSP

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) India’s crude soyabean oil imports reached a seasonal high of 4,54,639 tonnes in August, even as local soyabean prices have dropped below the minimum support price (MSP), industry body Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) said on Thursday.

According to SEA, crude soyabean oil imports in August 2023 stood at 3,57,890 tonnes. The share of non-palm oils, including soyabean oil, made up 48 per cent of the total vegetable oil imports.

The surge in imports comes as local soyabean prices dropped below the MSP, raising concerns about farmers’ income with the new crop’s arrival expected in the coming weeks.

SEA praised the government’s efforts to procure soyabean at MSP in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, but suggested increasing import duties on crude and refined edible oils by 20 to 25 per cent across the board as a more effective solution.

“This will translate into remunerative price to the farmers for his produce and the market forces will be able to pay above MSP price to the farmers and at the same time the government does not have to procure at MSP,” SEA said in a statement.

The industry body noted that in the last two months, soyabean ex-mandi prices were Rs 550-600 per quintal below the MSP of Rs 4,892 per quintal causing unrest among farmers.

However, total vegetable oil imports declined to 15.63 lakh tonnes in August from 18.66 lakh tonnes a year ago.

In the non-palm oils segment, crude sunflower oil imports fell 22.34 per cent to 2.84 lakh tonnes in August from 3.65 lakh tonnes a year ago.

Palm oil imports, which comprise 52 per cent of total vegetable oil imports, dropped 29.32 per cent to 7.97 lakh tonnes in August 2024, compared to 11.28 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

For the first ten months of the current oil year (November-October), total vegetable oil imports were 161.08 lakh tonnes, 16 per cent below the 192.41 lakh tonnes imported in the same period last year.

India is the world’s largest importer and consumer of vegetable oils.