SINGAPORE: India’s edible oil imports are forecast to climb to 15 million tonnes in the year to October 2023, up from 14.15 million tonnes shipped a year ago, a leading broker said on Friday.

“India’s population is growing, we have more than 1.4 billion people,” Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm, said at a grains conference in Singapore.

“With per capita consumption of 17 kg and strong economic growth, we expect India’s edible oil imports will rise.”

Imports of palm oil by India, the world’s biggest buyer, are estimated to rise to 8.75 million tonnes during the year as compared with 8.26 million tonnes a year ago, he said. Bajoria forecast soybean oil purchases at 3.75 million tonnes in 2022/23, down from around 4.0 million tonnes last year.

“Palm oil’s discount to soyoil is pretty wide and we expect palm oil get a bigger share of the market.” For sunflower oil, India’s imports are expected to rise to 2.5 million tonnes in 2022/23, up from 1.88 million tonnes a year ago.