Indian buyers canceled deals for approximately 75,000 tons of soybean oil

26-Feb-2026 03:37 PM

Mumbai. Typically, when global market prices decline, importers cancel deals previously made at higher prices. However, this time, the situation was reversed in the case of soybean oil. Indian importers had initially contracted to import crude soybean oil from Latin American countries at $1,080-1,100 per ton for April-June shipments.

However, when the price subsequently jumped to $1,140-1,147 per ton, Indian importers cancelled contracts for 65,000 to 75,000 tons of oil and sold it back to suppliers (exporters), thus earning a profit of $40-60 per ton. It is worth noting that India has now become the world's largest importer of soybean oil. Argentina is the largest importer of soybean oil.

According to trade analysts, since the international market price of soybean oil is still high, the total quantity of soybean oil to be cancelled under import contracts may increase to 1.00-1.20 lakh tonnes in the coming time. Many other importers have expressed similar intentions.

Benchmark soybean oil futures prices on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) jumped to a two-year high due to the rise in petroleum prices. Furthermore, the expectation of a trade agreement between the US and India and an increase in the quota for the use of soybean oil in biofuel production in the US also provided significant support to the prices.