India’s vegetable oil import will fall by 28 percent to 12 lakh tonnes in January from the year-ago period, industry body Solvent Extract Association of India (SEA) said on Monday. India imported 1.2 million tonnes of vegetable oils in January 2023, which is 28 percent lower than it shipped in the same month last year at about 1.7 million tonnes.
India’s import as per SEA
India is a leading vegetable oil buyer in the world. It is the world’s largest consumer and vegetable oil importer (meeting 60 percent of needs through imports). 
In 1st quarter (November – January) of the current oil year, total imports decreased by 23 percent, from 36.73 lakh tonnes to 47.73 lakh tonnes in the same quarter of the previous year.
As per SEA, about 7,82,983 tonnes of palm oil and 4,089,38 tonnes of soft oil were imported in January this year. The report added, that on February 1st, the total eligible oil was at 26.49 lakh tonnes, a 7.64 percent fall from that of the year-ago period. 
According to the industry body, the availability of palm oil for edible oil has decreased as the two main producers, Malaysia and Indonesia, are focusing on the production of biodiesel. This could increase prices this year. As India imports a large part of palm oil and its derivatives ( palm, mustard, soyabean, and sunflower) from Indonesia and Malaysia. India imports palm oil mainly from Indonesia and Malaysia a small quantity of crude soft oil (soybean) from Argentina and sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia.
As per the report, Soyabeans imports will also reduce but are predicted to go up from April, as exports from Argentina are expected to increase sharply. 
Factors Responsible in Decline of Import
Many reasons can lead to a decline in the country’s imports such as an increase in International prices of palm oil and upcoming mustard crop harvest, as well as excess availability of last year’s imported vegetable oil.
Global palm oil output was seasonally low in January- March which led to a reduction of stocks both in producing and importing, and a price increase too. The price of edible oil which is currently low, will rise this year because of lower production, supply constraints, and global economic issues.
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