When consumed as part of a balanced diet, palm oil is no more harmful than other edible oils. It has nearly equal proportions of saturated and unsaturated fats and is rich in antioxidants.
In April, Indian buyers opted to cancel large amounts of palm oil purchases for the first time in many years and industry was expecting May imports could fall to 700,000 tonnes.
India's palm oil imports fell to 510,094 tonnes last month, from 728,530 tonnes in March, the Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) said in a statement.
India had abolished basic import tax on crude palm oil (CPO) to keep a lid on prices and continue with a 5% tax called the Agriculture Infrastructure & Development Cess on CPO imports.
In the mid of climate crisis, Covid, the ban sent shock waves across India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Now international markets can look forward to better times.
Indians spending 14% more on edible oil compared to last year. Experts expect a cooldown if no shocks prevail, government says ‘situation under control’.
Indonesia consumes just over a third of its palm oil production domestically but has banned exports to meet its needs, launching one of the most dramatic examples of food protectionism.
After dominating India’s crude imports since 2023, Russian supplies slowed amid US sanctions, but a 30-day ‘waiver’ amid West Asia tensions could now push flows back towards 2 mbpd.
Trump has ushered in the age of humiliation. His method is to push around America’s friends rudely and publicly. He knows none of them can afford to fight back.
Even food-literate people consume alcohol, saturated fat, sugar, and smoke marijuana/tobacco.