New Delhi: India's edible oil imports fell 7 per cent in September to 15.44 lakh tonnes, mainly due to a sharp decline in shipments of crude sunflower oil, according to industry body SEA.

The imports stood at 16.58 lakh tonnes in the same month last year.

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According to data released by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) on Thursday, imports of crude sunflower oil in September plunged to nearly 1.05 lakh tonnes from 2.72 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

However, total edible oil imports rose 3 per cent to 151.64 lakh tonnes in the first eleven months of the 2025-26 oil year (November-October) from 146.83 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous oil year.

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Total vegetable oil (edible and non-edible) imports stood at 154.64 lakh tonnes from November 2025 to September 2026 compared to 150.31 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

During November 2025 to September 2026, the SEA said, refined oil imports declined sharply to 7,40,441 tonnes from 16,89,228 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.

As a result, the share of refined oil in total edible oil imports declined to 5 per cent from 12 per cent. This is mainly due to negligible imports of refined palmolein from Indonesia and Malaysia.

At the same time, imports of crude edible oils rose substantially to 1,44,23,939 tonnes from 1,29,93,972 tonnes, with their share increasing to 95 per cent from 88 per cent.

"The increase was primarily driven by higher imports of crude palm oil, which replaced imports of refined palmolein. Nepal's exports of refined soybean oil to India have also increased significantly," the association said.