In February, India witnessed a significant drop in palm oil imports, reaching their lowest level in nine months, as buyers responded to elevated prices by scaling back purchases of this tropical oil in favor of sunflower oil. According to the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) based in Mumbai, palm oil imports in February decreased by approximately 36% compared to the previous month, amounting to 497,824 metric tons, marking the lowest volume since May 2023. Conversely, sunflower oil imports surged by about 35% during the same period, reaching 297,092 tons. This increase was attributed to lower prices and delayed shipments from January, caused by disruptions in Red Sea shipping lanes due to Houthi attacks. On the other hand, soyoil imports in February experienced a decline of 8% compared to the previous month, totaling 172,936 tons. This figure was notably below the average monthly imports of 306,000 tons observed in the marketing year ending on October 31st.