News and Articles

• India’s heavy edible-oil imports in August pushed port inventories higher and filled storage tanks at key terminals.
• At Kandla, at least nine vessels carrying about 300,000 metric tons of edible oils were waiting to unload.
• Limited storage availability delayed some cargoes by up to 10 days, creating congestion in the import supply chain.
• August edible-oil imports were estimated at 1.5 million to 1.9 million metric tons, with crude soybean oil arrivals exceeding crude palm oil imports.
• With inventories still high, Indian refiners are expected to reduce October purchases of palm and soybean oil until existing stocks are cleared.

India's heavy vegetable oil buying has created storage and unloading problems at major ports, raising the prospect of weaker import purchases in the near term. Incoming edible-oil cargoes have filled shore tanks faster than refiners can clear supplies, leaving vessels waiting to discharge and adding pressure to delivery schedules for palm oil, soybean oil, and other imported edible oils.

Kandla, one of India's main gateways for edible oils, is facing the largest bottleneck. At least nine vessels carrying about 300,000 metric tons of edible oils were waiting to discharge, with some shipments facing delays of up to 10 days because shore storage tanks were full. Congestion was also reported at Haldia, though conditions there were less severe.

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The congestion follows a period of aggressive purchasing by Indian refiners. Estimates cited for August edible-oil imports ranged from 1.5 million to 1.9 million metric tons. One market participant recorded 587 vegetable oil arrivals totaling 1.9 million metric tons, which was 29% higher than the 1.47 million metric tons imported a year earlier.

Soybean oil was an important part of the buying increase. Crude soybean oil imports were estimated at 858,706 metric tons, compared with 793,636 metric tons of crude palm oil. Refiners had booked large August and September volumes because prompt shipments were cheaper than later deliveries and they expected stronger consumption during India's festival period. Actual consumption developed more slowly than expected, leaving larger quantities in storage.

Inventories were already high before the latest cargoes arrived. Vegetable oil stocks at Indian ports stood at 1.1 million metric tons at the end of July, their highest level since October 2023. With tanks filling and incoming vessels still waiting, traders expect refiners to reduce purchases of palm oil and soybean oil for October delivery as existing inventories are worked down.

For procurement teams, the immediate concern is physical handling capacity rather than a lack of oil. Buyers need to pay close attention to vessel schedules, terminal availability, inventory positions, and the timing of new purchases. A reduction in Indian buying could also leave more palm oil and soybean oil available in major exporting countries. The current situation shows how aggressive forward purchasing can create a logistics bottleneck when expected downstream demand does not absorb inventories at the anticipated rate.