Recent conflicts, particularly in West Asia and ongoing tensions affecting the Black Sea, have created significant volatility and supply concerns for India’s edible oil market, according to BV Mehta, Executive Director of the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
He said the risks of disrupted sunflower oil shipments from Russia and East Europe, and higher freight costs for palm oil have caused price hikes in commodities such as sunflower oil, forcing traders and consumers to monitoring the situation to navigate the supply chain risks.
While India has historically relied on Russia and Ukraine for sunflower oil, the current conflict, especially potential disruptions in the Red Sea and Suez Canal, threatens to delay shipments, increasing logistic costs and affecting availability, he said.
Prices of edible oils such as sunflower oil have shown volatility, experiencing price increases in the domestic market due to concerns over supply chain disruptions. To mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, India has been exploring long-term contracts with Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) for soybean and sunflower oil, he said.
According to SEA data, India imported 9.11 lakh tonnes (lt) of sunflower oil during the first four months of the oil year 2025-26 (November-October) against 11.47 lt in the corresponding period of the previous oil year.
Palm oil for biofuel
On palm oil prices, he said biofuel producers are showing more interest in palm oil based biodiesel as a result of the rise in crude oil prices driven by the war West Asia. This could strengthen near-term demand and prices for palm oil, especially in Southeast Asia, he said.
India imported 27.57 lt of palm oil (including crude palm oil and RBD palmolein) during November-February of the oil year 2025-26 against 19.96 lt in the corresponding period of the oil year 2024-25. Of this, the share of crude palm oil (CPO) stood at 27.24 lt (13.79 lt), and RBD palmolein at 22,237 tonnes (5.93 lt) during the period. India imported 15.43 lt of soybean oil during November-February 2025-26 (17.40 lt).
Rupee depreciation
He said the prices of palm oil and soybean oil remained at more or less same level in February 2026 when compared to February 2025, and sunflower oil jumped by over $200 a tonne.
The CIF price of crude sunflower oil was $1420 a tonne in February 2026 against $1216 a tonne in February 2025.
The CIF price of CPO was $1254 a tonne in February 2026 ($1197 a tonne in February 2025). Crude soybean oil price was $1254 a tonne in February 2026 ($1156 a tonne).
He said the rupee deprecated by over 4.2 per cent in last one year, a cause of concern to Indian importer / refiners.
Shipments up
Meanwhile, SEA data showed a 6.82 per cent increase in the import of edible oils during the first four months of the oil year 2025-26 (November-October). India imported 52.18 lakh tonnes (lt) of edible oil during November-February of the oil year 2025-26 against 8.85 lt in the corresponding period of the previous oil year.
Major exporters
During November-February 2025-26, Indonesia exported 12.04 lt of CPO and 17,949 tonnes of RBD palmolein to India. Malaysia exported 11.03 lt of CPO to India during the period.
India imported 9.69 lt of crude soybean degummed oil from Argentina during the first four months of the oil year 2025-26, followed by 2.10 lt from Brazil, and 1.75 lt from China.
Russia exported 4.87 lt of crude sunflower oil to India during November-February 2025-26. This was followed by Ukraine at 1.94 lt and Argentina 1.25 lt.