COMMODITY
India's crude sunflower oil imports decline 51% in February: SEA
Mar-13-2026

The Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said that India's crude sunflower oil imports fell 51 per cent to 1,45,000 tonne in February as the ongoing conflict in West Asia and disruptions to Black Sea shipping routes pushed prices sharply higher. Average import price for crude sunflower oil rose 17 per cent to $1,420 per tonne in February from $1,216 per tonne  a year earlier, while the rupee's 4.2 per cent depreciation over the past year compounded costs for importers and refiners. 

Further, SEA stated that Russia and Ukraine together supply 70-90 per cent of India's sunflower oil imports. War-related disruptions to Black Sea export routes, compounded by tensions in the Red Sea and Suez Canal, have tightened supplies and raised freight cost. Imports in the first four months of the 2025-26 oil year, which began in November 2025, fell to 9.04 lakh tonne from 11.2 lakh tonne a year earlier. 

SEA also flagged rising interest in palm oil-based biodiesel among biofuel producers, driven by higher crude prices, which could lift near-term palm oil demand in Southeast Asia. Total vegetable oil imports - edible and non-edible - rose 6 per cent to 53.24 lakh tonne in February over the year-ago period. Palm oil imports stood at 8.47 lakh tonne and soybean oil at 2.99 lakh tonne. 

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