India's September palm oil imports fall by 33%

India's palm oil imports in September fell by nearly a third from a month ago because of higher prices, hitting a six-month low, while sunflower oil imports plunged to a ten-month low, a leading trade body said on Friday.

Lower purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils could lead to higher stocks of palm oil in key producers Indonesia and Malaysia, weighing on benchmark futures.

Palm oil imports in September fell more than 33% to 527,314 metric tons, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.

Higher stocks in India and the rally in benchmark Malaysian palm oil prices prompted buyers to reduce the purchase of the tropical oil, the SEA said.

Imports of soyoil declined 15.4% to 384,382 tons and sunflower oil imports fell 46.2% to 152,803 tons, the lowest in ten months, it said.

Total imports of vegetable oil imports fell over 30% to 1.1 million tons, the trade body said.

Lower imports brought down vegetable oil stocks in the country to 2.45 million tons from 2.93 million tons a month ago, the SEA data showed.

India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.

Edible oil demand has been improving in the country due to the ongoing festival season, which could lead to palm oil imports rising above 700,000 tons in October, said a New Delhi-based dealer with a global trade house.