Tuesday, October 11th 2016
India’s demand for soybean oil is growing. It’s taking the edge off the global glut of the vegetable oil, but not enough to expect stronger soy oil prices. The Wall Street Journal says India’s imports of soybean oil have quadrupled in the last five years to more than 4 million metric tons this year. That demand is expected to keep growing. The USDA estimates India’s soybean oil imports will jump by as much as 40 percent over the next 10 years. Indians prefer soybean oil for cooking, but the relatively high price has kept them away. Bumper soybean crops have resulted in soybean oil prices dropping 35 percent since 2012. Meanwhile, the price of its main rival – palm oil – has stayed about the same, pushing the grocery store price of soybean oil to within 15 percent more than palm oil. Even though Indians are consuming more soybean oil, it’s not enough to significantly lift global prices. China’s producing more of its own soybean oil, so it’s importing less. And more rain has led to an increase in India’s own soybean production. The USDA says global soybean production this year will be up 5.6 percent.