India’s dependence on imported cooking oils is expected to remain elevated in the near to medium term, with edible oil imports likely to decline only marginally in the 2024–25 oil year (November–October), according to consulting firm India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).

“Lower kharif acreage may also impact the country’s oilseed production in the 2025–26 oil year, keeping the import dependency high,” the agency stated in its latest report. India imports about 57% of its annual cooking oil requirement, which totals around 26–27 million tonne (MT) of palm, soybean, and sunflower oils combined.

Ind-Ra has projected that total edible oil imports during 2024–25 will decline only marginally to around 15.5 MT, compared with 16 MT in 2023–24 and 16.5 MT in 2022–23. “Domestic refining margins wou

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