Palm oil buyers switch to cheaper rival oils, hampering price recovery

Benchmark Malaysian palm oil futures have risen nearly 5% in 2024 after losing 11% last year. Soft oils production is rising while palm oil production is falling, driving divergent price trends, said Vipin Gupta, chief executive officer of Dubai-based trader Glentech Group. "Higher prices are pushing away buyers from palm oil, which will limit the price rise," Gupta said. In India, the top vegetable oil importer, buyers are trimming palm oil imports and increasing soyoil for shipments in coming months, said Sanjeev Asthana, CEO at Patanjali Foods Ltd, India's top palm oil buyer. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine.